Looks like UFC president Dana White has given up on the women’s superfight fight between Ronda Rousey and Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos.
White ripped the former Strikeforce featherweight title holder a new one during a press conference for UFC on FUEL TV 7 Wednesday afternoon. MMA Weekly transcribed the quotes.
"Cyborg is pretty much irrelevant right now. She really is. She's irrelevant. Go out there and win some fights again, get your name back, stay clean, stay off some steroids and get your career back on track and then we'll talk.”
“But for her to think that everybody should move around and jump through hoops for her is insane."
These were some of the tamer comments from White, as he ripped Cyborg and her manager, UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz, for their repeated flip-flopping on whether or not Santos could make the bantamweight limit of 135-pounds.
“When you send a letter from your lawyer and your doctor saying I will die if I try to make 135 (pounds), it's just the goofiest thing. I've never seen anything like it in the fight business.”
"First of all, you tested positive for steroids and got stripped of your title. And you're trying to talk about how Ronda doesn't want to fight you, but she's the champion at 135. If Ronda goes and does the fight at 140 and does the fight at 140, it's not even for a title. The fight just makes no sense.”
Santos tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanzolol after a 16-second knockout victory over Hiroko Yamanaka in Dec. 2011, getting her suspending from competition for one year by the California State Athletic Commission.
The Brazilian has never fought below the featherweight limit of 145-pounds in her 12 fight professional mixed martial arts career.
Last week, Ortiz stated on HD Net’s Inside MMA program that he had asked for Zuffa LLC (the UFC’s parent company) to release Santos from her contract.
Since then, he has publicized a press conference for Friday to announce his star clients next move, but if White’s comments are any indication, it seems pretty clear that Santos will not be stepping inside the Octagon any time soon.