When Germaine de Randamie beat Holly Holm to win the inaugural UFC women's featherweight championship at UFC 209 in February, the fight to make was de Randamie and long-time No. 1 ranked 145-pound fighter Cris "Cyborg" Justino.
The UFC tried to make the fight for UFC 214 on July 29, but the champion was reluctant to make the bout. De Randamie and her camp hadn't talked since February. Late last month, de Randamie and her manager Brian Butler said she wouldn't face Justino, which led to the company stripping De Randamie.
Fan support has grown for a showdown between Justino and Invicta FC featherweight champion Megan Anderson at UFC 214, leading to the booking. The fight makes the most sense at this point for a division that has only had one fight. It would feature the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked 145-pound fighters in the world and would provide Justino with her toughest test to date.
"Definitely," Anderson told Fightful. "She wants the fight. She wants the fight in her adopted home country. I deserve that fight more than anybody else. She was the champion at Invicta. I’m the champion now in Invicta. It just makes sense. She’s said she’s asked for that fight before and my management said I wasn’t ready. That’s a complete lie."
With the fight booked, Anderson's wishes have come true.
"This is the fight that needs to happen," Anderson said. "This is the fight that brings new interest to the 145 division. If the UFC doesn’t want to have the two best featherweights in the world to fight then can you really say they are invested in the division? If this fight doesn’t happen, I’ll be disappointed but I’ll stay in Invicta and defend my belt and we’ll go from there."
You can see the full interview above.
