What is a champion without a legitimate challenger? It's an important question whose answer may have an impact on the career of undefeated UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
Rousey (12-0) successfully defended her title for the sixth-time on Saturday, knocking out Bethe Correia (9-1) in just 34 seconds. Although a rematch with Miesha Tate (17-5) appears to be on the immediate horizon for Rousey, it's becoming clear that the champion is lacking in legitimate challengers.
As such, Rousey was asked about Cris "Cyborg" Justino (14-1) during the postfight conference. Justino is considered one of the few female fighters who can pose a real threat to the reigning champion. However, issues related to performance-enhancing drugs and weight cuts for Justino have prevented a megafight between the two up to this point. Rousey was not afraid to call Justino out for these issues after the fight.
"I'm prepared to deal with anything, that's why I'm the champion," Rousey said. "I fight in the UFC, in the 135-pound division. She can fight at 145 pumped full of steroids or she can make the weight just like everybody else without them."
Justino, 30, tested positive for an anabolic steroid after a decisive victory as the Strikeforce featherweight champion in Dec. 2011. She cited a diet supplement provided by a former coach as the culprit for the positive test. She has since passed multiple random drug tests in Nevada and California.
Justino has never fought at 135 pounds and has expressed concerns in regards to making that weight. She will likely fight at a 140-pound catchweight in the UFC-owned Invicta FC organization in the fall.
On Sunday, Justino responded to Rousey's postfight comments in an Instagram post.
"To be a champion, I think you have to see the big picture," Justino wrote. "It's not about winning and losing; it's about hard work every day and about thriving on the challenge. It's about embracing the pain that you'll experience at the end of the race and not being afraid. I think people think too hard and get afraid of a certain challenge."
UFC President Dana White has stuck to his position that the promotion will not stage a catchweight fight between the two.
"The Cyborg thing is complicated, because everybody is ready to go," White said on Saturday. "I'm ready for Cyborg. Ronda is ready for Cyborg. Everybody is ready for that fight, but Cyborg has to make the weight.
"If I was Cyborg, I would have tried to jump into the Octagon (after Rousey's win). I think she was here. I'd be trying to jump in the Octagon, saying, 'I'm next, give me my shot next.' It's there. The fight is there. She's just got to make weight. There's talk, but I don't see her doing the necessary things to make that fight."
Rousey does not need this fight to validate her accomplishments or her reputation as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. But a fight of this magnitude would likely be the most highly anticipated Mixed Martial Arts event of the year. A victory would only add to Rousey's sterling legacy.
A champion needs challengers.
