Quote: ‘Conor McGregor Is A Piece Of S***’
At this weekend’s (Sat., May 14, 2016) UFC 198 from the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil, Invicta FC featherweight champ Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino will finally make her long-awaited UFC debut when she takes on Leslie Smith in a 140-pound catchweight bout as part of a massive blockbuster card.
Many feel as if “Cyborg’s” UFC debut has been more than a long time coming, as she was caught up in a highly-publicized media feud with former UFC champion Ronda Rousey, where the age-old debate raged on about whom was the most dominant female fighter on the planet when “Rowdy” ruled the women’s bantamwight division with an iron fist.
Now that she’s lost the belt, however, “Cyborg’s” path in the UFC is a little less clear, and there’s at least one onlooker who doesn’t believe it will be a great one. That person is Justino’s ex-husband, MMA veteran Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, who just made his Bellator debut with a submission of Brennan Ward in late April.
During a recent talk with MMA Fighting, Santos unveiled his discord with UFC brass, proclaiming that they only promoted their two main stars Conor McGregor and Rousey. He had some harsh words for both ‘The Notorious’ and the currently quiet ‘Rowdy,’ in addition to some seething statements about their employers:
“They treat fighters like dogs to promote their events and make money. They only promote (Conor) McGregor, this piece of sh-t. And Ronda (Rousey) was created by the media. Cris destroys her. They should have signed Cris a long time ago. She’s the best in the world, there’s no one to beat her. She’s a warrior who never gives up, but these douchebags in the UFC spent years making fun of her. The UFC is full of douchebags. The way they treat fighters is ridiculous. I never wanted to fight in the UFC for any money. They are destroying the sport.”
As for his ex-wife Justino, Santos believes that the UFC doesn’t truly want her, but had to give into fan outreach to see her in the octagon. If they truly did, according to Santos, they would have simply created a 145-pound division for her:
“The UFC doesn’t want her there. They put her there because fans demanded, but they don’t want her there. If they truly wanted her, they would have created her weight division. They opened a division they knew she would never be able to fight at. If they say ‘we want 100 girls for a 145-pound division’, they would get it immediately. But they don’t want that. They know that Cris would overshadow their plans with Ronda.”
Some bold claims, but Santos was far from done there. Read on to the next page to see his harsh criticism about Rousey and how the UFC handled her ‘rivalry’ with Justino.
Santos believes that the UFC was hiding Rousey from “Cyborg” because they knew she would beat her and stop her hype train. Rousey is currently on the sidelines following her knockout loss to Holly Holm at last year’s UFC 193, but will most likely return for an immediate title shot this year.
The male “Cyborg” doesn’t agree with that booking, noting that Brazilian Jose Aldo, who lost his title to Conor McGregor in 13 seconds, didn’t get a rematch after an undefeated streak lasting 10 years:
“If they really wanted the best female fighters, Cris should be the first one they signed but they boycotted her,” he continued. “They know she will overshadow Ronda and Ronda is their biggest moneymaker. She got knocked out but will fight for the belt again, while (Jose) Aldo won’t get his rematch after years as champion. I don’t think that’s good for the sport. It’s all about money, and they don’t care about the fighter.
Finally, Santos proclaimed that his ex-wife is far and away the No. 1 female fighter on the planet, and reiterated this was the reason the UFC ‘boycotted’ her. In his mind, they only wanted a pretty face who could become a star, not an actual ‘real fighter’ like Justino is:
“Cris is by far the number one and there’s no one to beat her, but she didn’t have the opportunity to show that yet because the UFC has boycotted her. They want a pretty girl like Ronda, they don’t want real fighters. The UFC knows people would compare Ronda and Cris. They made Ronda become a star, and when she was finally tested she got beat up badly and gave up. Ronda is not a real fighter. A real fighter goes down but comes back. It’s easy to be a fighter when it’s all good.”
