De Randamie vs. Cyborg title fight likely not happening at UFC 214, Cyborg now wants July bout with Megan Anderson

Having defeated Leslie Smith and Lina Lansberg in the UFC’s Octagon in 2016, Cris “Cyborg” Justino is now firmly embedded as a member of the promotion’s roster. As such, she was recently asked to vacate her Invicta featherweight title, which in turn meant that interim featherweight champion Megan Anderson was promoted to undisputed champ.

No longer tied to Invicta, Cyborg has recently had her sights set firmly on Germaine De Randamie, who captured the UFC’s inaugural women’s featherweight title with a decision defeat of Holly Holm earlier this year.

Shortly after her title-winning defeat of Holm, de Randamie suggested that she would need some time off to recover from lingering injuries. As such, Cyborg has been campaigning for a title fight with De Randamie at UFC 214 in Anaheim, California, this July 29, presuming this would give the champ time to heal. Regrettably for Cyborg and her team, it seems as though this desired title fight will not occur in July.

Having heard from sources close to both sides of this potential title fight, BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor has confirmed that a UFC 214 battle between De Randamie and Cyborg is now a near-definite no-go.

.@criscyborg and her team have been angling for a title fight with GDR at #UFC214 this July 29 in Anaheim.

— Tom Taylor (@TomTayMMA) April 12, 2017

I can now say quite confidently that this Cyborg- GDR title fight will not happen at UFC 214.

— Tom Taylor (@TomTayMMA) April 12, 2017

Cyborg is eager to fight for her fans, and she wants to fight in Anaheim. She and her team are now looking at other options.

— Tom Taylor (@TomTayMMA) April 12, 2017

First and foremost of these options is a non-title fight with @MeganA_mma. This is what Cyborg wants now.

— Tom Taylor (@TomTayMMA) April 12, 2017

Reached out to Megan Anderson to get her side on this. No answer yet, but I’ll update when I hear from her.

— Tom Taylor (@TomTayMMA) April 12, 2017

With this title fight off the table, Cyborg has told BJPenn.com that she is keen to fight out the last two obligations on her contract and explore free agency. This, of course, means she is willing to accept non-title fights. Of all of the non-title fights available at this juncture, her team’s preference is a fight with the new Invicta champ Anderson.

Whether Anderson will be able to jump from Invicta to the UFC for a July fight is difficult to say, but given that De Randamie is no longer an option, Cyborg and her team have confirmed to BJPenn.com  that this fight is their new focus.

Cyborg recently told BJPenn.com that she previously made an effort to book a fight with Anderson, but that Anderson’s camp suggested she wasn’t quite ready for a jump to the UFC.

Anderson, meanwhile, refuted these claims, assuring she has never been offered a fight with Cyborg.

GTFO!! Not once have myself or my team been offered this fight by the UFC & as it stands the 145 div is on hold because of Cris. #GetFucked https://t.co/ZjYrCeiqft

— Megan Anderson (@MeganAnderson) April 6, 2017

Theres nothing to elaborate. Myself or my team have NEVER been offered anything by Invicta or the UFC regarding a fight with Cris.

— Megan Anderson (@MeganAnderson) April 6, 2017

Needless to say, things are complicated in the new UFC women’s featherweight division at present. Perhaps UFC President Dana White described it best at the UFC 210 post-fight press conference.

“It’s been weird,” he said.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/12/2017.