Rankings mean a lot in this fight. They just signed the supposed top women's fighter in the world. There's top 5 and top 10 fighters calling her out. There's only 28 fighters in the entire division and she chooses somebody that can't even scratch the top 16 (UFC uses the champ + 15 rankings). Smith is literally in the bottom 30% of the division and this is who we get to see the supposed best women's fighter on the planet go up against when legit ranked fighters are calling her out?
Outside of Coenen and Carano, Cyborg has spent her entire career crushing cans. I'm not even really sure if I can even give her Carano as a good win when it was 7 years ago and Gina was a can crusher herself.
Cyborg has never fought anybody as good as Tate, Holm, Zingano, Jessica Eye, Ronda, Amanda Nunes etc. So seeing her duck that opportunity to stop can crushing she ends up fighting somebody in the bottom 30% of the division lol it's weak as fuck.
rankings don't mean shit. especially in this fight. this isn't a 135 fight. what good is it if a top 5'er got the shot? it ain't gonna elevate her. if Cat got it and beat Cyborg, would she have got the 135 title shot? probably. but that would show that rankings don't mean shit, since it has nothing to do with the rankings or the weight.
i like Eye a lot, but why Eye? she lost her last 2 (dropped by Tate so i doubt she can absorb Cyborg), and beat Leslie Smith by knocking her ear off. you can say she was winning, and i agree, but she still won by knocking her ear off. she didn't destroy her. prior to that she lost to Alexis Davis. she don't have the winningest record at this time.
i agree a top 5'er should have got it, but who called her out? Tate and Holm said they were down, at catch weight, that's pretty much all. i understand why they wouldn't want to give her Tate. she just won the belt. she'll probably defend it at 200 and they wanted Cyborg to fight in the GOAT Brazil show. you know Rousey ain't trying to fight Cyborg. she been ducking her since Strikeforce. and if Rousey loss to Cyborg on this next fight, Rousey fame will dwindle so bad. they probably didn't want to throw in Holm cus if she loses, casuals will back off her. she just got hella big, barely, and Dana White's mad that she took the Tate fight, and lost. they didn't want Nunes probably cus they didn't want to throw Brazilian vs Brazilian, even tho they got Jacare and Belfort, but that fight makes sense if you consider rankings and title contention.
Pena's in trouble with the law so they can't do her. i like Cat vs Cyborg, but UFC probably want's to save her so they can build off her since she's tough as shit and got a nice record. casual's and real mma fans who don't like womens fighting only know her as the chick Rousey beat in like 2 seconds. a loss to Cyborg will halt any building the UFC want's to do with her. and did she even call Cyborg out? maybe she did, i don't know. i aint ever read nothing bout her calling her out. regardless, she got in trouble with Tate's power so her eating Cyborg hit's probably ain't gonna happen, tho i still wanna see that match up.
i don't know of anybody in the top 15 who called Cyborg out. Leslie Smith is one of the toughest chicks along with Tate and Cat. it's not like she's getting finished or getting dominated in her losses. she's never boring and is not gonna hump you all night. that's probably why she's even considered. UFC is going to push this Cyborg fight, and i guarantee majority of interested viewers can't name anybody in UFC's womens bantamweight top 20, aside from Rousey and
maybe Tate or Holm(s). these are the people who only know of Cyborg because of Rousey. these same people think everybody Rousey beat are cans, when in reality everybody Rousey beat is way better and a more well rounded fighter than Rousey will ever be. but you have to actually like and respect and watch women's mma to understand that, when most these people don't. the fight don't make sense, just like Diaz vs McGregor II (especially at 170) don't make sense. just like Rousey vs Corriea didn't make sense. it's still one of the best match ups because of Leslie's style. it don't mean she's gonna win, but if she knocks out Smith, i don’t see anybody else absorbing her hit and not dropping and getting tko’d. maybe Tate and/or Pena.
i feel what your saying but it don't matter who she fights cus casuals don't know anybody. they raised Corriea's ranking once she got the Rousey fight and Siver got raised once he got the McGregor fight. they throw that in there to legitimize it since non-fans don't know any better.
