Cyborg doesn't deserve her own weight division

I keep hearing why won’t the UFC just make a 145 division for Cyborg, like they did for Ronda.  I don’t know where to start in my argument in why this is a bad idea. Well, the first point I’d like to make is that there aren’t a lot of 145 female fighters period.  I’m not talking about women who have taken a couple of fights at 145 and then dropped down to 135.  I’m talking about women who have exclusively fought at 145 and 145 only.  Just take a look at Cyborg’s last 10 opponents.  Out of the 10 only four of them are true 145ers.  Now out of four only two are active fighters. Though I would like to point that Gina was in talks about fighting at 135 but her movie career precluded that jump.   

Last 10 Opponents	True 145ers	Active 145ers
Leslie Smith	Daria Ibragimova	Daria Ibragimova
Daria Ibragimova	Charmaine Tweet	Charmaine Tweet
Faith Van Duin*	Fiona Muxlow
Charmaine Tweet	Gina Carano
Marloes Coenen
Fiona Muxlow
Hirko Yamanaka
Jan Finney
Marloes Coenen
Gina Carano

*As I wrote this Faith Van Duin former 145 dropped down to the 135 division for Invicta FC 19

As you can see from the tables, what you are left with is not a lot of competition. It’s hard enough for these ladies to get on a fight card. Bellator has sprinkling of WMMA, as well as the rest of the Regional Shows.  Invicta FC being the sole home for WMMA.  Essentially Cyborg has run through all the viable contenders in Invicta FC. Even in Cyborg’s last title defense, Shannon Knapp, Invicta FC president went overseas to book Invicta FC newcomer Daria Ibragimova.  That move right there is evidence enough to show why the UFC can’t sustain a 145 women’s division.  If Shannon Knapp didn’t have a contender on deck in her own promotion and had to get a fighter overseas to take the fight. How do you expect the UFC to sustain an entire division?  How do you think the UFC stood up the 115 pound division.  They basically gutted Invicta FC straweight division, they took the champion and all major contenders, but even after that Shannon Knapp was able to rebuild that division with new talent.  Why, because it’s a deep division. She can’t do that at 145, she’s knows and so does the UFC.

Second reason, Cyborg is not Ronda Rousey. Ronda Rousey is a superstar.  She’s been in Movies, TV Commercials, and on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition and regular issue just because she is a badass fighter. She came out with autobiography and she is still in her twenties. I don’t see Cyborg on Jimmie Kimmel or in Maxium.  Let’s be honest Cyborg has got some hard features, don’t get me wrong, she is physical specimen. I just don’t see her beating Ronda for her spot on the next Maxium shot.  Maybe in a fight but not as a centerfold.

My Third and final reason, I actually think Cyborg can make that weight (135).  We have fighters in the UFC that make those cuts all of the time.  Does anybody remember what Thiago Alves looked like at the height of his steroid use career.

Pre-USADA

Post USADA

 

Look at the guy at 170lbs and he is fighting at UFC 205 at 155 lbs now. Crazy about those photos is that he is still fighting at 170lbs in both pictures. Hey Lorenz Larkin started his career at 205 and is now fighting at 170.  Rashard Evan is making the cut from 205 to 185lbs.  Patrick Cote, Lyoto Machida, Hector Lombard, and Joe Riggs, a lot of these athletes have made the 15lbs drop.  Men and Women’s bodies are completely different I understand that, women tend to hold on to more water and natural have a higher percentage of fat. Yet Cyborg comes in to the fight shredded every time.   She can make that 10 drop; for Christ sake she made 139. She just doesn’t want to lose the part of her that makes her the destructive force that she is.  Whenever she walks into the cage she knows she is the strongest most powerful fighter at that time.  Who would give that up? She knows she walks around at 170lbs, she knows she is coming in around 15lbs heavier than her opponent after they both rehydrate.  That’s a huge advantage, that’s a huge confidence booster. I think she change up her strength and conditioning program to drop some muscle and make 135lbs. But I also think she loses that muscle she loses her confidence and a fighter can’t walk into that cage without confidence.  That’s why she won’t go down.