There was no UFC event this past weekend but that didn’t stop a physical altercation between two fighters from occurring.
Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, the consensus top pound-for-pound fighter in women’s mixed martial arts, is facing misdemeanour battery charges after striking strawweight Angela Magana in the face during the 2017 UFC Athlete Retreat in Las Vegas.
The charge, which was confirmed by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, means Justino is potentially facing six months in jail plus a $1,000 fine, or possibly community service.
Magana has been posting derogatory messages about Justino’s physical appearance on social media in recent weeks. She also accused Justino of being on steroids. Justino has been accused of cheating throughout much of her career and in 2012 she had a victory overturned after testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol.
More than 300 UFC athletes attended the retreat, which featured guest appearances from Kobe Bryant and Snoop Dogg among others. When Justino had the chance to confront Magana, she did just that in front of a group of fighters.
FanSided’s cagepages.com obtained a partial video of the incident and posted it.
Justino wrote a lengthy letter on her official Facebook page Monday where claimed to be a frequent victim of online bullying with Magana being just one of many perpetrators. Unfortunately, this isn’t anything new for the former Invicta FC featherweight champion.
In fact, UFC president Dana White once famously described Justino as looking like “Wanderlei Silva in a dress” back in 2014, two years prior to Justino making her promotional debut.
“When disparaging comments are made at the top, it sets an example that it is acceptable within the company,” Justino wrote.
As for potential punishment from the UFC, White hasn’t made any decisions.
“Obviously, we’re looking more into that and it’s very serious. We’ll see what happens,” White told reporters at The Ultimate Fighter tryouts. “This is the thing that the district attorney and the police are handling right now. There’s way more to that than just what am I thinking about it.”
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