Dana White reveals that 'Cyborg' was offered two 145-pound title fights

The ongoing saga of what weight Cris “Cyborg” Justino’s next fight would be at has been a complicated one. However, it appears that the UFC was willing to finally open the door for one of the most dominant women in all of MMA to compete in a newly formed featherweight division.

Although Justino had fought twice in the UFC at a catchweight of 140 pounds, the Brazilian struggled mightily to make weight on both occasions and stated that she wouldn’t be able to cut below that without having severe medical issues. Without a 145-pound division, she essentially was a fighter who floated around with nothing at stake.

UFC president Dana White revealed on the UFC Unfiltered podcast that Justino, who currently holds the Invicta FC 145-pound title, was offered a pair of fights against Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie for what would be the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight title. Unfortunately, Justino turned both fights down.

“I offered Cris Cyborg a title fight at 145 pounds about a month ago,” White said. “She had eight weeks to get ready for it. She said she couldn’t make the weight.”

A second fight was offered with more time for Cyborg to make weight. Again, Justino declined.

“Then I offered her another 145-pound title fight for Brooklyn [UFC 208 on Feb. 11]. She turned it down. She turned down two 145-pound title fights.”

White expressed frustration with Cyborg’s decision considering that she has long implored the UFC to introduce a 145-pound decision. But the Invicta champion spoke to MMA Fighting and revealed her reason for declining both fights.

“In my last weight cut I almost died,” she said in a statement. “I was in the bathtub cutting weight, and I thought, ‘I will die in this bathtub.’ It was the worst weight cut in my life.”

She placed blame on nutritionist George Lockhart’s methods to get her down to the 140-pound limit but ultimately had to shed 24 pounds in seven days to make weight before her September 24 bout with Lina Lansberg, which she won by second-round TKO. She stated that she would no longer work with Lockhart and explained that the weight cut left her in treatment for 10 days. When the call came for Cyborg to open up the 145-pound division, she simply wasn’t physically ready to train and compete.

“[The UFC] invited me to fight again, but this time at my weight and for the belt, but with 10 weeks’ notice,” she said. “Knowing that I was recovering, like I said, I told them I can fight anyone in March, but I need to take care of my body, and no mention of the fact that I’m dealing with severe depression and can’t have another brutal weight cut like before. This decision is more important than the belt or the division, I’m thinking about my health.”

What appeared to be an end to an ongoing situation has only brought up more questions than answers. Will the UFC still offer her the opportunity to open up the women’s featherweight division despite her declining a pair of fights? If that door opens again, who will it be against? This certainly won’t be the last time we hear about Cyborg’s dealings with the UFC.