5 Fights We Want For UFC's Ronda Rousey

1. Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino

And so we come to the real test for Ronda Rousey, the fight everyone has been asking for since the UFC opened its doors to WMMA: Cyborg. Cristiane Justino is the most feared competitor in all of WMMA, arguably more so than Rousey herself, and the largest legitimate threat to Rousey's belt - if she can make the weight cut to 135lbs. And that's just part of the problem. Cyborg, like Carano and Holm, fights outside the UFC. And unlike Carano, who Dana White seems open to bringing in, Cyborg is a big maybe. Why? When the UFC took the leap into women's MMA, and announced that they would only feature bantamweight fighters, Cyborg's name was on everyone's tongue. She was a fierce competitor, but she had tested positive for steroids while in Strikeforce after a December 2011 match against Hiroko Yamanaka, and had been suspended for a year. Fighting normally at 145lbs, most assumed she could make the cut to 135. However, Cyborg seemed against the move. She also retained the services of former UFC champion Tito Ortiz as her manager - a massive black mark in the eyes of the UFC. Ortiz and Dana White had long been feuding, to the point that White was willing to forgo signing a name fighter for the UFC's fledging WMMA offering simply to spite him. White, for his part, went so far as to poke fun at Cyborg's looks, making himself look like a complete bully, and called Ortiz a "buffoon" at a UFC media scrum at UFC Fight Night 27. Meanwhile Ortiz bungled Justino's career, turning down a seven fight UFC deal as he wanted a shorter contract for the star (which would have meant a quicker path to a larger second contract, should Justino have succeeded in the UFC). Cyborg and Ortiz then began claiming that doctors had told her that cutting weight to reach the bantamweight limit of 135lbs could be hazardous to her health and any hopes of having children someday. Cyborg would sign with Invicta in the end, Rousey would start her UFC career against Liz Carmouche, and Rousey vs. Cyborg would become another MMA dream fight. Only, come 2014, things would change. Ortiz would step down as Cyborg's manager, and Invicta was demonstrating that they had a solid working relationship with the UFC (culminating in a deal to air Invicta events on UFC Fight Pass). Cyborg announced that, after another fight or two, she would begin the cut to 135. Suddenly, that dream fight is awfully close to reality. While there's still a contract with the UFC to be hammered out, should Cyborg be successful in cutting weight, there is very little sitting the way of Rousey vs. Cyborg in 2015. And that fight, should it happen, puts Rousey in real danger. Cyborg has been fighting since 2005, and has defeated the likes of Shayna Baszler, Gina Carano (Carano's only loss), Hitomi Akano, and Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen twice, once to take her Strikeforce belt. Cyborg's lone loss came in her very first fight, and she has serious knockout power. Only two of her fights have gone to decision. Despite having displayed an improved standup game in her last fight against Sara McMann, Rousey would need to get this fight to the ground, and fast. Her way out his her trusty arm-bar. Standing and trading with Cyborg would likely end in folly, and a new UFC women's bantamweight champ. Either way - this is the fight we all want to see.