Cyborg's Debut and the Viability of 140lbs Catchweight "Super Fights"

Cristiane Justino, "Cyborg" to you and me, finally made her UFC bow on Saturday night—beating Leslie Smith in devastating fashion in front of her hometown crowd in Curitiba, Brazil, at UFC 198.

32 strikes were thrown and 21 were landed. They were enough to mow down a game Leslie Smith, who deserves plaudits for being the only woman willing to take on the Invicta FC featherweight champion.

Cyborg was in imperious form. Her pure fighting aggression can only be compared to that of fellow Brazilian Wanderlei Silva, but she has the technical nous to make that frenzied style truly count. If the UFC were unsure about the future of Cyborg in the promotion and treated this fight as a one-off, I seriously doubt they are now.

However, the one galling aspect to Cyborg's performance was after the fact. The Brazilian's English has improved to no end since having relocated in the USA. But, her all-Portuguese post-fight interview had an ominous omission—there was no Ronda Rousey callout.

It was an omission that was picked up on by the media present at the event. When questioned about her unwilling to commit to picking a fight with the former UFC women's bantamweight champion in Rousey, Cyborg stood by her measured decision: "I believe it was my moment. Tonight was my moment and it was historic. I never thought I'd be sitting here tonight. I never thought I'd be here after everything I've went through and it's a historic moment for me. Talking about her is something that people are going to talk about. But, I let my fans decide on who my opponent will be and I just have to be ready." Cyborg knows who her fans want her to fight by now, surely?

It would appear the feedback from both incredulous fans and the media eventually got back to Cyborg and she finally issued a challenge to her long-time foe in Rousey—referencing the UFC's New York debut at UFC 205, which is widely rumoured to be the day Rousey will make her return to the Octagon. But, it all seems too little, too late.

Rousey callout or not, Cyborg's win leaves both her and the UFC in an interesting and somewhat compromising position. The UFC is in desperate need of stars and Cyborg is definitely an asset that fits the bill—exemplified by the fact the UFC have paid Cyborg for her fights in Invicta FC as its featherweight champion.

The UFC's desperation to have Cyborg on their books for a hopeful stint as a bantamweight—keeping her well away from the clutches of Scott Coker's Bellator promotion—is as telling as that bantamweight run is unlikely. So much so, the UFC resorted to having Cyborg's debut against Smith at a catchweight limit of 140lbs.

Despite weighing in at 139lbs —just three pounds shy of the extended bantamweight limit of 136lbs—Cyborg remains sceptical herself of having the highly-anticipated run as a bantamweight that many in the MMA scene long for, judging by further post-fight comments. "I've been training for two years to be able to make weight, and I felt very well tonight. I believe I can do other super fights. But I'm going to continue in my weight class. I've been champion for some time, and I want female MMA to grow, and I don't think it's the right thing for me to abandon my weight class."

One issue is the fact it simply may not be possible for Cyborg to cut down to the bantamweight limit. But, the UFC have painted itself into a corner here. The UFC hierarchy have clearly shown a preference towards "super fights" of late. Money talks in the world of fight promotion and highly-touted, fun contests that make little sense in the title picture, such as Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz and their eventual rematch, is evidence of that.

How many super fights can Cyborg have at 140lbs? As the UFC's women's bantamweight champion, it makes little sense for Miesha Tate to take that fight as evidenced in her tweet above. Meanwhile, the dethroned Holly Holm will not be willing to take such a risky fight considering she is one win away from yet another shot at the 135lbs title. In fact, UFC president Dana White claimed Holm actually rejected the offer to face off against Cyborg at UFC 198 in the first place. The only remaining opponent worthy of the super fight tag is Rousey and she has said she will only ever consider fighting Cyborg at the 135lbs limit on countless occasions.

The UFC's Cyborg experiment at a 140lbs catchweight only worked thanks to the novelty of finally seeing arguably the sport's greatest female fighter of all time competing in the UFC for the first time, a hot hometown crowd and a willing participant in Leslie Smith who had nothing to lose. That novelty will soon wear thin if there aren't any meaningful contests for Cyborg within the promotion.

Despite the belated Rousey callout, the noise made from Cyborg suggests she's content where she's at as the Invicta FC featherweight division, but is open to these so-called super fights at 140lbs in the future. But, there seems to be a dearth of opponents willing to take on such a big challenge with such little reward.

It's great to see Cyborg finally get the chance to perform on the platform her skills deserve, but, with the trajectory this venture appears to being travelling in, is it a tenable option for the UFC going forward? It's unlikely. So, for the aforementioned figureheads of the UFC's women's bantamweight division, the UFC need to make it worth its while to create these super fights Cyborg certainly warrants.