Cris Cyborg has claimed UFC president, Dana White has blocked a grappling match between her and Miesha Tate.
Cyborg has been vocal about her relationship with Dana White ever since she lost to Amanda Nunes and after she beat Felicia Spencer to become a free agent. Since then, Cyborg has continued her dominance in Bellator but was looking to do a Submission Underground grappling match against Miesha Tate but White blocked it.
“I’m not surprised,” Cyborg said on The Catch Up with Cris Cyborg & James Lynch (via BJPENN.com). “He doesn’t want this to happen. She wants to have a couple fights more, she says it’s not the end of the line, now she can have the opportunity to do this fight in the future. She said she’d really like to do [it] but you know the story. Dana wants nothing to do with Cyborg. But I believe in the future maybe the fans would like to watch.”
A grappling match between Cyborg and Tate would’ve been highly-anticipated and an intriguing bout. Although the Brazilian is more known for her power and striking, she showed off her ground game against Arlene Blencowe to earn her first career submission.
For Cris Cyborg, she says she’s disappointed that White would block the grappling match. She also says she doesn’t like the fact White also blocked Georges St-Pierre from boxing Oscar De La Hoya as fighters careers are so short and any opportunities that come they should be able to take.
“The fighters don’t have forever,” Cyborg said. “We have to use every moment of opportunity that we have. Okay, your manager and you decide one thing is good for a career, [the promoter] is supposed to let it go, let them do it. There’s no help with the fighter. They’re gonna make extra money, extra publicity, extra matches, it’s going to be better. But I don’t know, I’m glad to be free of this.”
Would you have liked to see Cris Cyborg and Miesha Tate grapple?
