By: IronHorse@Ironhorse_somoJuly 1, 2014Over the past year and more, we've all witnessed the war of words between Ronda Rousey and Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino. It seems to be an endless litany of dire threats flowing both ways, to the point where a lot of fans have lost interest. One thing seems certain, though, these two women seem to have a definite dislike for each other. And, in the end, I think they need each other. That is, one needs to achieve a decisive victory over the other, to lay to rest permanently, the question of "Who is better?"
It seems to me, that what we are witnessing is a real life version of the movie "Highlander." Playing the role of Connor Macleod (The Highlander) we have Ronda Rousey. Playing the role of The Kurgan, we have Cyborg. There is little question these are the 2 baddest women on the planet. Arguments for each being "the baddest," all hold some validity. But to lay the question to rest for good, there can only be one solution: These 2 simply must fight.
Ronda plays the role of the (somewhat tarnished) golden girl, well. She has her Olympic medal, the media power of the UFC behind her, and Dana White to play up his champion and run down her greatest potential rival (Cyborg.) She has her undefeated streak as UFC champ, and looks better, every time out.
Cyborg plays the role of the dark horse equally well. She's made some bad decisions in the past (PED's,) and the choice to take on Tito Ortiz as her manager sure isn't going to endear her to Dana White (given the animosity between Dana and Tito,) or make her (possibly, someday) entry into the UFC any easier. She's a mauler, plain and simple. She's damned scary in the ring, although her loss to Jorina Baars proved she isn't untouchable!
What weight should they fight at? Ronda fights at 135, Cyborg at 145. Both look in phenomenal shape, at their fighting weights. But in the end, that's only a 10 pound difference. Split the difference, and fight at a catch-weight of 140 pounds, make each woman give up 5 pounds - it's not that big a deal! There doesn't need to be a Title on the line. The bragging rights alone are enough.
So, Who wins this one? I honestly don't know. Their skill sets seem to offset each other well. I give a slight edge in punching to Cyborg (although Ronda has come a LONG way, since her beginnings,) and a slight edge to Ronda in grappling (Although Cyborg seems to have good enough chops to not be blown away by Ronda.) I think it'll all come down to who can impose their game plan, on fight night. Either way it goes, I think it'll be a great fight, and test both women in ways they've never been tested before.
And if this fight never comes to be? All I can say is it would be a very sad thing, and lead to many more years of arguments as to who was better.