Two of the best female MMA fighters in the world fought in the same city and in the same weekend. Not only did both women win impressively, both champions finished their fights in under a minute. Ronda Rousey scored the fastest submission in a UFC title bout by submitting Cat Zingano in 14 seconds, while Cris Cyborg brutalized Charmaine Tweet for a TKO finish in 46 seconds.
This obviously sparked even more interest in a super-fight between the two stars. Instead of hyping a potential match up seeing that there's talk that they're finally "closer" to making it happen, UFC president Dana White decided to throw water on the match up. Despite having a similarly dominant champ in Anderson Silva who tested himself against ranked light heavyweights, White says it doesn't make sense for title holders to move up a division or book a catchweight.
When asked about future opponents, Rousey brought up Bethe Correia or Holly Holm, and made no mention of the Invicta champion. When pressed about the topic, she was also firm in that stance of 135 lbs for Cyborg.
"She's not in the UFC. If she wants to come to the UFC and fight at 135, then yes, I would," Rousey told Ariel Helwani after winning at UFC 184. "(She won) against some chick that I beat on like my second pro-fight ever, in what, 40 seconds? Not really (impressed)."
Rousey won that fight in 2011, and it actually took 49 seconds to win by armbar. It was Tweet's professional debut, and after a rough start, she won 5 of 6 before facing Cyborg.
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Despite her willingness to take on Carano at 145 lbs, both Rousey and White have been adamant that the fight only takes place at bantamweight, and not a pound heavier. Hearing this, Cyborg has since said that the UFC champion may be a bit scared of her.
"It's funny. When I read that, I laughed," Cyborg told ESPN W. "I think it looks like she's scared of me. I don't know. Why? I don't like to think too much about it, I try to fight inside the cage. If she doesn't come for me, maybe I'll come for her, follow her and make this fight happen."
"I think the fans want to make this fight happen. Before, when I was fighting at 145 in Strikeforce, she was also fighting there. And people would say she wasn't ready yet when I was supposed to fight her. It's different now because people want to watch this fight. At 135, she's the best and I'm in a different class at 145. But I think it would be a great fight. I'm trying 100 percent to make this fight happen for everybody -- for me, too. But I'm trying to respect my body and I don't want to make 135 and be weak. I want to make 135 as the same me."
With Ronda and the UFC unlikely to budge, Cyborg says she'll just have to try her best to drop down.
"I'm trying my best. I made 140 for my first fight in America. It was hard, but maybe. Yeah, maybe," she said. "I hope she accepts this fight so we can put on a big show for all fans. I think for women's MMA, it would be perfect. I wish I could make 135 so we can make this happen."
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