Cyborg Blames Opponent Change on Megan Anderson’s ‘Irresponsibility’
Originally, Cris Cyborg Justino was scheduled to take on Megan Anderson at July 29’s UFC 214 from Anaheim, California for the vacant UFC featherweight title, but late last night, it was announced that Anderson had withdrawn from the bout. Now, Cyborg will be taking on Invicta FC bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger.
In a statement released to Combate, Cyborg blamed the opponent change on the ‘irresponsibility’ of Anderson, although she also said that a bout with Evinger will be more ‘exciting’:
“I’m always training to evolve technically with each fight,” the statement, in her native Portuguese, reads. “I’m prepared to fight anyone. As for the change in opponent, we can say it’s the result of Megan’s and her manager’s irresponsibility. As for Tonya, she’s a great opponent. She’s been winning her past 10 fights and is an example of how the world rankings should be independent from the UFC’s rankings.
“Tonya is a top-10 bantamweight and certainly deserves to be in a big platform. It will be a great fight and I believe that, with Tonya, it will be an even more exciting fight for the fans than the fight with Megan. The focus and the plan remain the same: going for the belt. Thank you to all my fans #CyborgNation.”
In her last 11 bouts, Evinger has compiled an impressive 10-0-1 record, while defending her 135-pound title three consecutive times to date. Despite her impressive record, Evinger will undoubtedly face the toughest test of her career when she meets Cyborg.
Cyborg has scored back-to-back stoppage victories inside the Octagon over the likes of Leslie Smith and Lina Lansberg.
UFC 214 is currently set to be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Daniel Cormier and returning ex-titleholder Jon Jones.
