Hoping to cement her status as the most dangerous fighter in all of women’s mixed martial arts, Cris “Cyborg” Justino formerly vacated her Invicta FC 145-pound title to focus exclusively on the UFC. She then took it one step further by formally calling out the promotion’s champion.
In a video posted Friday on her personal YouTube account, Justino (17-1) challenged inaugural UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie (7-3) to a title bout.
“I’m in healthy now and I’m strong,” Justino said. “I really want to show my fans why I went 10 years undefeated at 145 pounds. After my two fights in Brazil, I would like to fight in the USA.
“July 29th, the UFC will be in Southern California and I would really like to fight in my backyard in America, in Anaheim, California. So, Germaine, I hope your hand is healthy enough to accept my challenge.”
De Randamie, 32, captured the title by unanimous decision over Holly Holm in the co-main event of February’s UFC 208 card in Brooklyn, New York. After the fight, however, the Dutch champion ruffled feathers by responded to questions about Justino by bringing up a hand injury she hoped to get surgery on prior to her next fight.
While de Randamie has not gone public in recent weeks to update the status of her hand, she did express her hope of granting Holm an immediate rematch before entertaining thoughts of a Justino fight.
Justino, 31, a former Strikeforce champion, is 2-0 since making her UFC debut last May, winning a pair of 140-pound catchweight bouts by knockout. Many believe the UFC created a 145-pound division with her in mind, but Justino initially turned down multiple offers to fight for the inaugural title, claiming she needed more time to train and cut weight.
Cyborg, a native of Brazil who trains out of Huntingdon Beach, California, was also cleared of any wrongdoing from a potential doping violation in December after being flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
