Just hours after saying she had accepted a contest with Amanda Nunes, UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg found herself involved in a bitter back and forth. The other party? One of the few women considered to be a legitimate 145-pound female athlete in mixed martial arts and potential contender to Cyborg’s title, Megan Anderson.
It started off fairly innocuously. Earlier today, Cyborg announced she’d accepted a contest with Amanda Nunes on July 7 for International Fight Week, despite having previously stated she’d rather compete against someone who naturally competed in the featherweight division so as to help build up the weight class.
When a fan asked if she planned on facing Anderson after the Nunes bout, to which another member of the public stated Anderson would be out of the ring for two years and no longer a worthy contender, Anderson jumped in. Stating she’d only have been out for one year, Anderson was then asked point blank by Cyborg if she was able to compete in the near future.
Megan I was told by the @ufc you would not be fighting anytime soon. Is that a lie?
— #CYBORGVsNUNES #UFC226 (@criscyborg) January 23, 2018
Well since you're apparently fighting Nunes, when I return in a few months, I want a fight.
— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) January 23, 2018
If I don’t fight @Amanda_Leoa in July, are you ready to go by then @MeganA_mma? @Mickmaynard2 https://t.co/ZKOazN2e6e
— #CYBORGVsNUNES #UFC226 (@criscyborg) January 23, 2018
However, when Cyborg asked Anderson if she’d be able to accept a fight should the Nunes contest fail to come to fruition, things took a turn. Anderson replied to Cyborg’s account suggesting it was in actuality Cyborg representative Ray Elbe, and that if there needed to be fight negotiations, they should take place in the proper format.
Ray Elbe… This is Twitter. The UFC has a HQ. I suggest you do business there and talk to them like my management are… https://t.co/sb3ehmHnKQ
— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) January 23, 2018
Then things got personal.
You want to talk business @MeganA_mma? I didn’t come to USA on a tourist visa to work illegally then have personal issues so I could marry and stay in America!! @uscis https://t.co/J72mbsCAqS
— #CYBORGVsNUNES #UFC226 (@criscyborg) January 23, 2018
Don’t think you are not talking to me! pic.twitter.com/2dsHDOHpNv
— #CYBORGVsNUNES #UFC226 (@criscyborg) January 23, 2018
Anderson last fought in July of last year, and at one stage was scheduled to face Cyborg at UFC 214. However, citing ‘personal reasons’, Anderson had to withdraw from that fight, but to this day has not publicly stated what those issues were. The closest she came to discussing the problem was on the Sean, Funky, and the Baddest Man podcast shortly after the drama unfolded.
“I understand where people are coming from, but honestly I don’t owe anyone an explanation,” Anderson said at the time. “I have personal stuff. Say if you had personal shit you were dealing with. Would you want the whole world pressing you and forcing you to try to tell them? No, you’d probably be like, ‘Fuck you guys, this is my shit’.”
“I want to make one thing clear and that’s unfortunately this is out of my control and I didn’t want to have to pull out of the fight. I was ready for that fight. I wanted that fight more than anything. I’m definitely not scared of Cris and hopefully once this stuff is kind of figured out, I want that fight back. She can say what she wants, but I’m coming for her regardless.”
