Move over, Cris Cyborg!
According to Ronda Rousey's nutritionist, Mike Dolce, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's bantamweight queen is more likely to move down, not up, in weight for a superfight. That essentially shuts down any potential matchup with Cyborg in the future, especially considering the Brazilian knockout artist can only cut down to 140 pounds.
"Why would Ronda, who walks around in the off-season at a healthy (148 to 152 pounds), why would she look to give such advantages to an athlete that walks around at 175 pounds?" said Dolce in a recent interview with MMA Junkie. "No male on the planet would do such a thing, and I think it's disrespectful and a double-standard for the public to assume Ronda should."
It's safe to say Dolce has never met this guy.
"As Ronda's weight-management coach, I see Ronda being a 125-pound athlete, if that weight class existed," added Dolce. "Based on her current body weight, and how compliant she's been to her lifestyle, Ronda can make 125 pounds. That might be where the most exciting matchups would actually take place. Can you imagine Ronda versus (UFC women's strawweight champion) Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who's always talked about moving up to 125."
That's all well and good, but Dolce isn't accounting for the weight that Jedrzejczyk would have to gain in order to meet Rousey at the desired 125-pound mark. It's sort of the same thing as Rousey gaining some extra muscle to meet Cyborg at 140 pounds. While Cyborg offers a considerable size advantage over Rousey than Rousey would over Jedrzejczyk, there should be no disparity when discussing 10-pound weight gains or weight cuts.
In any case, either fight involving Rousey would be gigantic. Even though Jedrzejczyk is an undefeated champion who looks more than ready to move on from the 115-pound division, Cyborg is the white whale that Rousey needs to slay in order to further cement her mixed martial arts (MMA) legacy.