There was always a reason floating around for those who wanted to deny that Cris Cyborg, who for all intents and purposes has been lineal world women’s featherweight champion for eight years, was the greatest women’s fighter of all-time.
There was the big one, of course: Cyborg’s steroid suspension following a 16-second TKO of Hiroko Yanamaka in a Strikeforce fight in 2011. That was a self-inflicted wound that came during the time of athletic commission testing, which were far easier to get around than the current USADA regime.
There were those who bought Ronda Rousey’s hype and believed not just that she was a competitor who had a memorable run at bantamweight, but that she’d win a fight against Floyd Mayweather.