Cris Cyborg: Germaine De Randamie ‘Never Wanted To Fight Me’
The UFC essentially created a women’s featherweight division for Cris Cyborg, which is why it was odd to see the promotion book Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie, two bantamweights, in the inaugural featherweight title fight at UFC 208 last February.
De Randamie ended up winning the bout in somewhat controversial fashion, but she has not fought since. In fact, the promotion recently stripped her of her title after she refused to fight Cyborg and expressed her interest in dropping back down to 135 pounds.
This didn’t come as a surprise to Cyborg, who recently claimed that de Randamie ‘never wanted to fight’ her:
“We knew she never wanted to fight me,” Cyborg told Combate. “There was some people in her camp that warned me about it, they said she wasn’t going to fight me. I wanted to close the fight as soon as possible. I believe she knew they would do that. I don’t think it came as a surprise, or that she learned about it on the internet. The UFC was in touch with her manager, they wanted to put me against her, but I knew it wouldn’t be that quick.”
“Maybe she was dropping to bantamweight to become a two-division champion. I guess that was her excuse, but she thought she couldn’t defend and keep her belt. She didn’t want the fight. Her first excuse was saying her hand was hurt, then she said she had family problems, then she called me a cheater. It was a new excuse everyday.”
Now, Cyborg is set to take on Megan Anderson for the vacant UFC featherweight title at UFC 214 on July 29, 2017 in Anaheim, California. The bout, as she labeled it, is a ‘real featherweight fight’:
“This fight against Megan is a big opportunity. She has the Invicta belt, which I vacated, so it’s a perfect match. It’s a real featherweight fight.”
UFC 214 is currently set to be headlined by a light heavyweight grudge match between champion Daniel Cormier and returning former champion Jon Jones.
