Gamesmanship begins between Cyborg, Holm
But there’s no deal for a fight just yet
If Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino wants to obsess about drug testing and about a fight that’s not yet made, Albuquerque’s Holly Holm said on Wednesday, that’s her prerogative.
Holm plans to keep training and take what comes.
It’s beyond rumor, but by no means fact, that the UFC is targeting Dec. 30 (UFC 219) in Las Vegas, Nev., as the date for a women’s featherweight title fight between Holm and Cyborg, the champion.
Even so, Cyborg this week has tweeted repeatedly about her concerns that Holm hasn’t been, or won’t be, tested by the United States Anti-Drug Agency as frequently or as rigorously as she has been/will be.
“I want a guarantee,” Cyborg tweeted on Monday, “(that Holm) is tested same number of times as me during this camp.”
On Instagram, Holm pointed out that she’s been tested by USADA nine times so far in 2017 compared to Cyborg’s eight.
Cyborg responded with a video, in which she said, “When they knock at my house at 5 a.m., I think it’s right to go to your house at 5 a.m., too. When I beat your (expletive) in the cage, your team won’t have an excuse for anything. I hope you go and sign the contract, I wait for it.”
Holm, speaking Wednesday at a news conference held to announce a Dec. 1 MMA card at Isleta Resort & Casino, said she finds Cyborg’s preoccupation with drug testing hard to fathom.
“I don’t know what she’s thinking,” Holm said. “Maybe she’s really just trying to promote the fight and make it more personal. I’m not really sure, nor do I really care that much.
“I want to train and win, whether it be her or anybody else.”
Regarding the fight contract Cyborg referred to, Lenny Fresquez, Holm’s manager and agent, said he has not received one. It is believed Cyborg is haggling with the UFC for a new contract of her own.
In 2011, Cyborg (18-1) was suspended for a year after testing positive for an anabolic steroid.
Holm (11-3) has never tested positive for a performanceenhancing drug.
“I’m so far from that,” she
said. “I’ve never used any performance-enhancing drug in my entire life. So I just don’t even want to be associated with that entire issue.” BIRTHDAY GIRL: Holm celebrated her 36th birthday on Tuesday by training as usual at Jackson-Wink MMA.
Afterward, she said, she went home, watched a movie and ate dinner on her couch.
The menu? “A buffalo burger,” she said.
TURN THE PAGE: Albuquerque bantamweight Damacio Page (19-10) will return to the cage after a year-and-ahalf absence as the headliner on the Dec. 1 Jackson-Wink Fight Night card at Isleta. He’s matched against El Paso’s Jesús Urbina (8-5) at the top of a card that as of now includes 10 fights.
At 34, Page said on Wednesday, his life has changed for the better. He’s a licensed contractor and the head wrestling coach at St. Pius X High School.
“Before, (MMA) was like a job, and I put so much pressure on myself,” he said. “Then I’d be injured and I’m still taking fights.”
Page said he broke his hand in his most recent fight, a loss by second-round TKO (liver kick) to Adam Antolin during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter 24. The fight does not show on Page’s record because it was not a TUF final match.
“I had to take the whole year off,” he said. In the interim, he focused on his contracting business.
Now he said, he’ll fight not because he needs to but because he wants to.
“This go-round I’m not injured,” he said. “I’m just living life, doing what I do.”
WATERSON: Albuquerque strawweight Michelle Waterson (14-5) will face Tecla Torres (9-1) on UFC 218 in Detroit on Dec. 2, as reported by multiple online sources.
The UFC has made no announcement.
Waterson is coming off a loss by second-round submission (rear naked choke) in April to Rose Namajunas, who’s scheduled to challenge Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the UFC strawweight title on Nov. 4.
Torres’ only loss came against Namajunas by unanimous decision in April 2016.