Cris Cyborg has taken on all comers throughout her historic career, but even so, a few big matchups never came to fruition.
Truly one of the pioneers of women’s MMA, Cyborg (28-2) has been competing professionally since 2005. The first big fight that really put her name on the map was her Strikeforce featherweight title bout against Gina Carano in 2009, which is considered to be one of the most important fights in women’s MMA history.
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Cyborg won that fight by first-round stoppage and would go on to win seven more MMA fights before entering the UFC in 2016. There, she captured the featherweight title in her third fight and created a couple of big matchups, defending against Holly Holm and dropping the title to Amanda Nunes. Cyborg campaigned for a rematch against Nunes after rebounding against Felicia Spencer, but despite her best efforts, it never came to be.
“I believe it like this: all the fights that didn’t happen in my career is because the other side didn’t accept to fight me,” Cyborg told MMA Junkie. “I never denied to fight anybody. I was ready, everybody knows this. I’m never afraid of anybody. I was ready to fight anybody put in front of me. So, this I don’t have on my chest, because I did everything to make those fights happen.”
Two of the biggest fights that Cyborg never got to see through were against UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey and current UFC bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison.
The Rousey fight was a dream matchup for fans, but it was more of a long shot. Rousey wasn’t a fan of Cyborg and made it clear she wasn’t going to leave the UFC or leave the bantamweight division for that fight. When the potential fight talks were at their height, Cyborg held the Invicta FC featherweight title, and dropping down wasn’t in the cards.
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Harrison, however, was a much more realistic option during the PFL’s recent acquisition of Bellator. However, Harrison ended up leaving PFL to sign with the UFC, putting hopes of that fight to bed. Cyborg believes Harrison ran away from the fight, but is ultimately content with what has transpired in her career.
“I believe they never had the intention to make the fights, just to make some noise and promote their names,” Cyborg said.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Why Cris Cyborg isn’t upset losing Kayla Harrison, Ronda Rousey fights
