Cris “Cyborg” Santos sat down with Nocaute Transamérica's Ricardo Campelo and talked hot button topics Ronda Rousey, doping, and Tito Ortiz.
Ricardo Campelo: Cris, please talk about this new moment in your career, living in the U.S. and having Tito Ortiz as your new manager.
Chris Cyborg: I met Tito when he was preparing to fight Forrest Griffin, and Cyborg [Evangelista, ex-husband] was helping him with the training, so we were working with him in his camp. And he’s a totally different person from what we shows in the media.
RC: : So, he’s not the bad boy he seems to be?
CC: No, he’s a nice guy. He cooks, he likes tacos, he is Mexican... he is so nice. And when he retired, he contacted me and said that he would love to manage my career. Then I talked to master Rudimar [Fedrigo, owner of Chute Boxe], who was my manager at the time, and we settled a deal, we agreed that it would be good for me to have Tito giving me the support in the U.S.
RC: You’re also permanently training in the U.S., right?
CC: Yes, I’m training with Cyborg, we represent Chute Boxe/Cyborg Team, I train jiu-jitsu with [André] Galvão at Atos, and I do most of my training over there.
RC: Despite being so long without fighting, you’re name is the most commentated in women MMA, alongside Ronda Rousey. By the way, she keeps talking about you, challenging you. The media has been talking about a possible fight between you two, but there is no consensus about the weight division. What are your thoughts on this fight?
CC: My natural weight is 72/73kg (158/160 lbs). When I started fighting, my weight was 69kg (152 lbs.). I was already an athlete, so I gained 3kg. I said I could fight [Ronda] at 140 pounds, which is 63kgs, because I already made that weight, when I first fought in the U.S. So, I know I can make that weight. I won’t promise something that I can’t do. 61 kg (135 pounds) is too low for me. That’s why I said that, to make this fight happen, I could go down to 140 pounds, because I already made that. I do what I can. I said that I would fight her at my weight class or at 140lbs. I also want that fight, I’m very pumped. It’s gonna be very exciting, all the fans want to see it. I believe it will happen. I think Dana will make everything it’s possible, ‘cause this is the fight that everybody wants to see.
I think she is a great athlete. I don’t believe she is a mixed martial artist, she still has weaknesses. But she is a great judoka, has a lot of judo submissions, and I believe she’s improving increasingly. I have nothing bad to say about her. It would be a pleasure to fight her. I don’t do trash talking, ‘cause I don’t like to fight outside the octagon. I like to go there and fight, do what I know. But if she likes to talk, I’m ok with it. You should use the weapons you have.
MC: One thing she keeps saying about you is that you won a lot of fights on doping. Does that bother you, the fact that she’s questioning not only the result for this fight, but all of your victories?
RC: She can talk anything outside the octagon, but inside the octagon, she won’t have the media, her coaches, or her fans to protect her. It’s gonna be just me and her.
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