Cyborg ready to give her best

Fighting is a way of life for mixed martial artists like Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (12-1). It not only is what they do for a living but also their passion. Her anticipated return to mixed martial arts happens just one night before UFC 184 takes place in Los Angeles. Justino will headline the Invicta FC card at The Shrine Expo Hall in the same city as she defends her featherweight title against Charmaine Tweet.

Photos c/o Gabriela Ochoa

The last year has seen Justino deal with a decision loss in a Muay Thai fight and injury to her ankle. Now after recovering from her injury, she is now ready to step back into the cage and defend her title.

“I’m very excited. I haven’t fought in a long time a year and half, almost two years in May. My last fight I did Muay Thai. So I’m very excited to defend my belt,” said Justino.

This is a homecoming of sorts for the Brazilian who previous lived in San Diego before moving to Huntington Beach.

““I’m very excited to fight close to my house. Before I lived in San Diego and I moved to Huntington Beach. Fighting in California is better because all my friends and fans can come and watch my fight,” said Justino.

Now that she calls Southern California home, she is able to benefit from the training partners in the area.

“Almost three years I train with Jason (Parillo) and now I train with Bryce (Krause). He’s very good at Muay Thai and I’m very excited to train with him. Jason is always my head coach and we’ve been training together. I’m glad to be training at RVCA and to be training with him,” said Justino.

The time away from competition didn’t stop her from finding ways to stay busy. Her competitive spirit still found her training.

“You know I don’t like to stay a long time without fighting. I like to stay active so I tried to do jiu-jitsu, wrestling and Muay Thai. I think keeping motivated you can learn and compete,” said Justino.

Even a loss in her last Muay Thai fight wasn’t seen as something bad. She was able to take it as a positive and use it as motivation.

“I like competing in other sports too because you learn. You’re always learning and practicing while training and fighting while gaining more experience,” said Justino.

Her focus remains on Tweet who is on a winning streak of her own, finishing her last five opponents. She tries not to look too far ahead even if some fans are when it comes to a fight versus Rousey.

“You know I respect all my opponents. I train hard to be ready for any situation. I’m thankful that she accepted the fight and I think it’s going to be a very good fight. I think she’s going to be ready too and I hope we can make a great fight for everyone to watch,” said Justino.

This is sure to be her biggest profiled fight since it is being promoted in association with the UFC and is being streamed live on UFC Fight Pass. Still Justino just tries to keep things in perspective and knows she must win before any premature talk of a Rousey fight.

“You know my focus right now is for my next fight. Everybody wants to watch me and Ronda Rousey but we have a problem about the weight class. You know before when I was champion in Strikeforce, she started in my weight class. And then she goes to 135lbs. I wanted to make this fight before,” said Justino.

While she has been through many ups and downs after capturing the Strikeforce title at 145lbs, including a suspension for a failed drug test in 2011 following her knockout victory against Hiroko Yamanaka. The fight was ruled no contest by the California Athletic Commission.

She has taken the experiences in stride and has since proved to be a clean athlete. Most recently passing testing in order to be licensed for her next fight.

“For sure I always leave everything in God’s hands. If this fight happens I’ll accept it but we have to know about the weight,” said Justino.

Those fans in attendance and those watching the fight live on UFC Fight Pass can expect the same exciting fighter who has stopped almost all of her opponents.

Justino is prepared to give the fans what they want. “Same Cyborg, you know I always try to get the knockout. I try my best every day and in every fight. Win or lose its consequence but I try my best inside the cage.”