Christiane "Cyborg" Justino

[GeneChing]

Actually, all of those classical ancient Roman marble statues were originally painted. I've seen some recreations in museums. It is rather hideous.

Curitiba mayor orders removal of Cris Cyborg mural
By Guilherme Cruz@guicruzzz Mar 26, 2018, 11:00am EDT


A mural was painted in Cris Cyborg's honor prior to UFC 198 in 2016. Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Cris Cyborg had a cool mural in her hometown of Curitiba, Brazil, even before she became the UFC featherweight champion, but the mayor has decided to take it down.

The art, located at the Afonso Botelho square, was painted right before Cyborg’s UFC 198 win over Leslie Smith in May 2016. The pay-per-view event took place at the Atletico Paranaense soccer stadium, right next to the mural.

Rafael Greca, who became mayor of Curitiba in January 2017, has decided that it was time to remove the mural.

Greca believes that a piece of white marble shouldn’t be painted, and said the monument has been “restored.”

”The temporary, precarious mural, painted on marble, was deteriorated,” Greca told MMA Fighting as to why he decided to “clean” the monument. Greca is not against painting another mural in tribute to the fighter, he said, but not over the marble. “On a regular wall, of course,” Greca said.

Cyborg, who recently defeated Yana Kunitskaya to defend her featherweight championship in Las Vegas, wasn’t happy with Greca’s decision.

”It’s not deleting my image in the square that my story goes out,” Cyborg wrote to MMA Fighting. “There is no way to erase the main play where I am marked, the heart of my fans and followers. That’s the most important thing.

”If the mayor of Curitiba does not support an athlete who represents the city, imagine what happens with other athletes. It’s a shame. The right thing to do is to motivate young people to practice sports.”

Back in 2016, Cyborg used the mural as background for one of her shots at Ronda Rousey, who had lost her UFC bantamweight title to Holly Holm a few months before.

[GeneChing]

CRIS CYBORG
I'D FIGHT RONDA ROUSEY IN WWE
7/24/2018 12:10 AM PDT
Cris Cyborg Says She's Open To Fighting Ronda Rousey In WWE
EXCLUSIVE

GIVE 'EM WHAT THEY WANT
TMZSports.com
Ronda Rousey vs. Cris "Cyborg" Justino -- the super fight that never happened -- could still be a possibility ... just not in the UFC.

TMZ Sports talked to Cyborg at the airport in L.A. on Sunday ... and asked her about the possibility of finally facing her rival after years of trash talk ... and battling Ronda in the WWE.

"Some fans ask me, 'Cris, do you like to make a fight with Ronda Rousey in WWE?'" Cyborg tells us, "I say 'Maybe, ya don't know. Maybe.' It's not something I plan. But if fans would like to watch, I need to train for that, but, ya know, it's gonna be great."

Cyborg was actually complimentary of Ronda ... telling us she's seen Rousey do her thing in the WWE ... and thinks she's kickin' ass in the squared circle.

"I watch a couple things Ronda's doing there, and I think she's doing great."

Justino also breaks down her plans to box in the future ... and explains why Conor McGregor is a trailblazer.

THREADS:
Christiane "Cyborg" Justino
Ronda Rousey

[GeneChing]

Morning Report: Dana White goes after Cris Cyborg: ‘Dealing with her has been a nightmare’
By Jed Meshew@JedKMeshew Aug 7, 2019, 8:00am EDT


Dana White Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

The saga continues.

Dana White and Cris Cyborg have been publicly feuding for months, but with UFC 240 in the rear view, Cyborg is now officially finished with her UFC contract. But so ready to be done with Cyborg was White that he released her from her contractual matching period last weekend, saying that the UFC was out of the Cyborg business. In turn, Cyborg noted how happy she was to be done with the UFC and White’s “big ego.” Normally, one would expect that to be the end of the beef. Well, not exactly.

At a media scrum following Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series (video courtesy of The Mac Life), Dana White was asked about Cyborg and went off on the former featherweight champion.

“Just a lot of things,” White said when asked why he released Cyborg early. “Dealing with her has been a nightmare the entire time she’s been here, and I said the other day in the interview with Laura, there was a lot of controversy bringing her in in the first place at that time. And when I did the interview with Laura, we really didn’t mention the whole her lying on the video about what I said. Her [air quotes] production team [air quotes] lying about what I said on the video. It’s just been a bad experience dealing with Cyborg from day one.

“We brought her in after she tested positive for steroids and got done with that. We made her a clean athlete with the best drug testing policy in all of sports the entire time she was here. Which, when she talks about her legacy and her [air quotes] brand [air quotes], her legacy and her brand, nothing is better than knowing that she’s a clean athlete after testing positive for steroids and all the negativity that surrounded her about being a dirty athlete.

“We bring her in here, we do all this stuff, and she was just never happy. Never happy, complaining about everything. She was a nightmare to deal with it and at the end of the day, she knows, I know, Amanda Nunes knows, I tried to make that Nunes fight and she doesn’t want it. She doesn’t want it and she gets mad when I say I don’t blame her - I DON’T BLAME HER! Because if that was Amanda Nunes last Saturday I think everybody can agree what would have happened in that fight.

“So she’s unhappy, we’re unhappy, she lies and does that thing, - see you later, have a nice life.”

White and Cyborg have been quietly feuding for years, but it recently boiled over in advance of UFC 240. White repeatedly told the media that he wanted to make a Cyborg vs. Nunes rematch instead of Cyborg’s bout with Felicia Spencer but that Cyborg was refusing to fight Nunes again. Cyborg, in turn, took umbrage with her boss throwing her under the bus instead of promoting her upcoming fight and also disputed White’s claims. Things reached a crescendo when after UFC 240, Cyborg released a video of her backstage encounter with White, but the video was doctored to make it appear White said certain things he did not say. Afterward, Cyborg apologized for the video and blamed the incident on her production team but White isn’t ready to accept that.

“I don’t think there’s any peace between me and Cyborg,” White said. “Whether you like me or don’t like me, whatever your opinion of me doesn’t matter, what she did was dirty. Dirty what she did with the video and meanwhile she’s running around saying she better get an apology from me. Yeah, I got an apology from her because what she did is one of the dirtiest things. It had to kill her to apologize to me but what she did is one of the dirtiest things that you can do to somebody. That’s why she apologized.”

But White maintains that even that is something they could overcome for the sake of business. After all, White said, he worked with many fighters who didn’t like him - including Mark Hunt while Hunt was suing him and the UFC - but he kept fights moving right along. The issue with Cyborg, White said, is that the fight to make is one that she will never accept, despite her public posturing that it is the fight she wants.

“She doesn’t want to fight Amanda Nunes,” White said. “You guys and the fans need to get it into your head that she did everything she could, including doctoring a video lying about what I said, to avoid fighting Amanda Nunes. The fans and the media need to just get it through your heads that all that sh*t was going on - ‘Oh he’s bullying me.’ Bullying you? You’ve been here for five years, what are you talking about? You’re talking about stuff that happened five years ago. It was all a smoke screen to not fight Amanda Nunes. She doesn’t want that fight otherwise we wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now. I’ve had problems over the last 20 years with plenty of fighters, from Tito Ortiz to Mark Hunt to God knows who else, we always made fights. She doesn’t want to fight Amanda Nunes.”

Cyborg, for her part, has vehemently maintained that the only fight she wants is the Nunes fight as it is the best for her legacy. She even had a Cyborg vs. Nunes 2 shirt made that she donned post UFC 240. However, White says he’s ready to put his money where is mouth is. If Cyborg really wants the fight, she can have a one-fight deal for the rematch. But White says that still won’t get it done.

“If I’m lying, she can call tomorrow and we’ll make that fight,” White said. “She will not call tomorrow and that fight will not be made because she does not want to fight Amanda Nunes. She won’t take the fight. SHE WON’T DO A ONE-FIGHT DEAL! SHE WILL NOT FIGHT AMANDA NUNES! SHE WILL NOT FIGHT AMANDA NUNES ON A HALF A FIGHT DEAL! Amanda Nunes will knock her out again in the first round. I know it, you know it, and she knows it and she will not do that fight. Period.”

After hearing this from White, Cyborg’s Twitter account tweeted that a conversation between White and her management team will take place today, however that tweet has since been deleted. Meanwhile, White says the UFC women’s featherweight division is going to keep on trucking without Cyborg and that, realistically, the UFC doesn’t even need her as they already have the best 145er in the world.

“Amanda’s gonna defend both titles just like she always did,” White said. “Cyborg leaving doesn’t matter. We know who the best fighter in the world is at 135 and 145, it’s Amanda Nunes. She had the opportunity for her legacy, Cyborg’s legacy, to get that fight again and she doesn’t want it. So we will continue to bring in the best fighters in the world and put them in against Amanda Nunes.”

Cris Cyborg Youtube
✔
@criscyborg
Once I discovered what had been done by production I could not wait to apologize. I have prayed many times that one day myself and @danawhite could talk face to face about our differences and find a way to move on. I am never too proud to offer an apology. https://twitter.com/bokamotoespn/sta...27894443220992 …

Brett Okamoto
✔
@bokamotoESPN
“It had to kill [Cyborg] to apologize to me. She did because what she did (with the doctored video) is one of the dirtiest things you can do. Fans and media need to get it though their heads she did not want to fight Amanda Nunes.” — Dana White

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8:10 PM - Aug 6, 2019
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Christiane "Cyborg" Justino
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[GeneChing]

Biggest contract ever given to a woman. Gotta give her cred. She's got more longevity than pretty much anyone else in the game.

Cyborg signs deal to move from UFC to Bellator
play
1:17 PM PT
Marc Raimondi
ESPN Staff Writer

Cris Cyborg has signed with Bellator MMA after a messy three-year run with the UFC.

One of the best women's fighters in the history of the sport is now under a multiyear, multibout contract with Bellator, promotion president Scott Coker announced Tuesday on Twitter. Coker wrote that it was the biggest contract ever given to a women's MMA fighter.

Cyborg, whose real name is Cris Justino, accompanied Bellator's announcement with a video message to her fans on Facebook.

"My goal is to become the only female fighter to hold four different major titles in the same division," said Cyborg, who has already held the women's featherweight title in the UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC.

The final fight on Cyborg's UFC contract came against Felicia Spencer at UFC 240 in July, a bout Cyborg won via unanimous decision. The fighter and UFC president Dana White have had a long history of butting heads, and White said in the aftermath of that bout the UFC was out of the Cyborg business. The UFC waived its 90-day exclusive negotiating window with the Brazilian knockout artist, making her a free agent.

Cyborg, who is No. 3 pound-for-pound among women in ESPN's MMA rankings, won the UFC women's featherweight title by beating Tonya Evinger by third-round TKO at UFC 214 in July 2017. She dropped the belt to Amanda Nunes, also the UFC's women's bantamweight champ, at UFC 232 last December via first-round knockout. That defeat was Cyborg's first in 13 years, since her pro MMA debut in 2005.

From 2005 until 2018, Cyborg was the most dominating and fearsome force in women's mixed martial arts. Justino, now 34, went undefeated and won 17 of 20 victories by finish. Cyborg has beaten the likes of Holly Holm, Marloes Coenen and Gina Carano. Historically, she has also been one of the best-known women's MMA fighters in the world, drawing solid numbers on television and pay-per-view.

"I have worked with countless athletes over my 30-plus years of promoting combat sports, but there is no one quite like Cyborg," said Coker, who promoted Justino with Strikeforce. "Her ability to excite the crowd from the moment she makes her walk to the cage is special, and having had the pleasure of promoting several of her fights in the past, I am looking forward to the opportunity of promoting her once again. Cyborg is the most dominant female fighter in the history of the sport and she will be a perfect fit here at Bellator, where champion Julia Budd and the other women that make up best female featherweight division in the world have eagerly awaited her arrival."

Cyborg was brought into the UFC in 2016 at a catchweight of 140 pounds. She had competed previously at 145 pounds, a more natural weight. The idea at the time was to set up a fight between Cyborg and Ronda Rousey, but it never materialized. Cyborg was too big to get down to Rousey's 135-pound weight class, and Rousey departed the UFC later in 2016.

Cyborg and the UFC had an embattled relationship even before Cyborg was under contract. In 2014, White infamously made fun of Cyborg for her appearance at an MMA awards show, saying she looked like male fighter Wanderlei Silva in a dress. Cyborg took it as White saying she looked like a man; White has said that he was making a comment on Cyborg's past history with performance-enhancing drugs. Cyborg tested positive for a steroid and was stripped of her Strikeforce title in 2011.

After Nunes beat Cyborg last December, White repeatedly said Cyborg did not want a rematch, which Cyborg vehemently denied. Meanwhile, Cyborg said she felt the UFC never truly built out a women's featherweight division in which she could compete, which was a valid criticism.

On Ariel Helwani's MMA Show in July, Cyborg said she wanted a public apology from White as a condition of her re-signing with the UFC.

"Of course, he has to apologize," Justino said. "I think he has family, he has kids. ... I don't know if he has a heart, but I think one thing he's doing is not just touching me, because he doesn't like me. He's touching the people around me, he's touching my family. It's not right."

The rocky relationship came to an end in earnest after UFC 240 when Cyborg's team posted a doctored video online that inaccurately quoted White in subtitles while talking to Cyborg backstage in Edmonton, Alberta. Cyborg apologized on social media, but White said in an interview on the UFC's YouTube channel that the promotion was done with Cyborg.

"I'm going to release her from her contract and I will not match any offers [she receives]," White said. "She is free and clear to go to Bellator or any of these other promotions and fight these easy fights she wants. Done. Done deal. I will literally, today, have my lawyer draft a letter to [Justino's team saying] that she is free and clear."

In the Bellator release announcing her signing, it makes note of the promotion's healthy women's featherweight division, including Budd, who has won 11 straight.

[GeneChing]

There's a vid behind the link.

Cris Cyborg stops Julia Budd, makes history with Bellator title win
Jan 25, 2020
Marc Raimondi
ESPN Staff Writer

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The shots came fast and with ferocity from Cris Cyborg. A knee. A left hand to the head and a right to the body. A hard right kick to the legs. Again and again. Before long, it was over.

It was that kind of long combination, thrown with maximum force, that made Cyborg one of the most feared fighters -- man or woman -- in MMA history. And 15 years into her storied career, she landed another vintage, historic finish.

Cyborg defeated Julia Budd by TKO at 1 minute, 14 seconds of the fourth round Saturday night in the main event of Bellator 238 to win the Bellator women's featherweight title at The Forum. Cyborg completed an unprecedented MMA grand slam, becoming the first fighter to win titles in the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce and Invicta FC.

"I feel really happy to have the opportunity to make history," Cyborg said. "This is gonna be cool. The only fighter to win four titles [in those different organizations]. It just means we don't quit. I had a lot of downs, good times in my career. But I don't quit. It made me strong."

In December 2018, in the same Los Angeles-area building, Cyborg was knocked out by Amanda Nunes to lose her UFC women's featherweight title. On Saturday, she exorcised those demons, clad in purple and gold in the former home of the Showtime Lakers.

"I was not sad. I feel like everything happens for a reason," Cyborg said of the loss to Nunes. "If I did not lose the belt that today, I would not be here now, champion of Bellator. And here, I'm happy. [In the UFC], I was not happy."

Cyborg, one of the best women's MMA fighters of all time, was making her Bellator debut after departing the UFC in August. Budd had won 11 straight coming in and had not lost since 2011 against Ronda Rousey.

Budd was game until the end. She was able to outmuscle Cyborg at times in the early rounds. By the third, though, Cyborg had seized control. She finished that round in full mount, raining down blows. And in the fourth, the Brazilian buzz saw let loose with a ridiculous combo that started with a knee and effectively ended with a body shot that crumpled Budd to the canvas. It was a brutal display of aggression, the likes of which fans who have followed Cyborg's career have become familiar with.

Cyborg (22-2, 1 NC) has now finished 18 of her 22 victories by KO/TKO. Her only loss since 2005 was the knockout via Nunes. She was unable to come to terms with the UFC for that rematch before ending up with Bellator. Cyborg, 34, owns wins over former UFC champion Holly Holm, former Invicta champion Tonya Evinger and women's MMA pioneers Gina Carano and Marloes Coenen.

Budd (13-3) had won seven straight in Bellator. The British Columbia native had been Bellator women's featherweight champion since 2017. Budd, 36, has lost to only three women in her MMA career: Cyborg, Rousey and Nunes.

"I'll be back stronger," Budd said.

Cyborg's final UFC fight came at UFC 240 on July 27, 2019. Her contract expired with that bout, and UFC president Dana White told UFC.com days later that the promotion no longer wanted to be "in the Cris Cyborg business." Cyborg's relationship with the UFC was dysfunctional from the start, with Cyborg accusing White and UFC brass of bullying and Cyborg's team doctoring a video after UFC 240 that inaccurately quoted White in subtitles.

Cyborg apologized for the latter incident, but the damage was done. She signed with Bellator in September. Scott Coker, who is now Bellator's president, promoted Cyborg a decade ago while with the now-defunct Strikeforce.

According to the California State Athletic Commission, Cyborg made a guaranteed minimum of $250,000 at Bellator 238, while Budd took home a minimum of $350,000.

In the co-main event of Bellator 238, Darrion Caldwell defeated Adam Borics via rear-naked choke submission at 2:20 of the first round in a Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix quarterfinal matchup.

Caldwell will now meet A.J. McKee in the semifinals of the tournament on a date that has yet to be determined.

Caldwell (14-3), 32, is a former two-time Bellator bantamweight champion and a former NCAA wrestling champion. The New Jersey native has won two in a row and six of his past eight fights.

Borics (14-1), 26, a native of Hungary, was undefeated coming in, with five straight Bellator wins.