The UFC has penciled in a womens featherweight title bout between Cris Cyborg Justino and Megan Anderson as the co-main event of UFC 214, set for July 29 in Anaheim, MMA Fighting reports. <\/p>\n
A formal announcement is expected to be forthcoming. <\/p>\n
Germaine de Randamie beat Holly Holm in February to become the inaugural champ of the womens featherweight division, but she refuses to fight Justino, citing Cyborgs drug testing history. <\/p>\n
Justino (17-1, 1 NC) was suspended by USADA but later granted a retroactive therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for Spironolactone, a physician-prescribed diuretic, and she was sanctioned by neither the anti-doping organization nor the UFC. <\/p>\n
Nevertheless, de Randamies manager Brian Butler told MMA Fighting last month, the position is that she will not fight Cyborg because Cyborg is a known and proven cheater. <\/p>\n
Justinos fight against Anderson will be her first at 145 pounds, a more natural weight for her than the 135 pounds at which bantamweights fight. She has had some scary incidents while cutting weight before fights. <\/p>\n
Anderson (8-2) appears to be the UFCs third choice for Cyborgs next opponent. Per the MMA Fighting report, the Cat Zingano came after de Randamie on the promotion's wish list, but Zingano is dealing with undisclosed health issues and would not have been ready by July 29. <\/p>\n
Cyborg and Anderson, the current Invicta champ, have been lobbying for a fight against each other. <\/p>\n
Cris and I are the top featherweights in the world, the Australian said. <\/p>\n
Justino, who is from Brazil, added, I am very excited about this fight, and I called out this fight a long time, because I think shes a 145-pounder. This fight was supposed to happen a long time ago, and then no happen because her manager talked to the UFC and thought she needed more time, needed more fights. But they think this is the real fight. This is the real fight for the belt at 145. <\/p>\n
The light heavyweight title bout, arematch between Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones 2, is slated to headline the UFC 214 card at Honda Center. <\/p>\n
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Cyborg Justino expected to face Megan Anderson at UFC 214 - Sporting News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The UFC has penciled in a womens featherweight title bout between Cris Cyborg Justino and Megan Anderson as the co-main event of UFC 214, set for July 29 in Anaheim, MMA Fighting reports. A formal announcement is expected to be forthcoming. Continue reading