Cristiane Justino will finally get to close one long, tumultuous chapter of her life at next Saturdays UFC 214, when she meets Tonya Evinger for the UFC womens 145-pound belt.

After putting so much effort into campaigning for the UFC to create the division, Cyborg Justino is happy that its here. And she understands it may be a big deal for her fans. But for the former Invicta FC champ, who hasnt lost an MMA bout since her 2005 pro debut, shes already coming into it a champion.

Actually, the way I see it, this fight to me is a title defense, Justino saidduring an online chat with Brazilian reporters. I didnt lose my belt. I left it vacant. The way I see it, it will be a title defense. In the eyes of some people, its more valuable than the belt I already carried. But, for me, its yet another defense.

Ive always trained and dedicated myself as if I was the No. 1 contender, even already being the champion.

Featuring three championship fights, UFC 214 takes place July 29 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The evenings main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FXX and UFC Fight Pass.

Cyborg says the scrap would have been made more special had it been the UFCs first womens 145-pound title fight. Instead, with Justinosinability tomake a quick enough turnaroundafter the tough cuts for her two 140-pound catchweight bouts, it wasformer bantamweight champ Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamiewho did the honors with a UFC 208 headliner.

De Randamieemerged victorious in that encounter, but what ensued was one of the most bizarrereigns in UFC history. After months of speculation around a hand injury, the champ said she refused to defend the belt against obvious contender Cyborg citing Justinos past doping as a reason. She was stripped of the title.

Cyborg, who in the interim was flagged and acquitted of wrongdoing by USADA, was then scheduled to face fellow former Invicta FC featherweight champ Megan Anderson for the vacant title at UFC 214. But, with Andersons withdrawal citingpressing personal reasons, that didnt pan out either.

Justino (17-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) now welcomes Invicta FCs 135-pound champ Tonya Evinger (19-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC)into the octagon. But, clearly, it wasnt smooth sailing. As such a longtime advocate for the creation of a womens 145-pound division in the UFC, why does she think putting the fights together has been such a challenge?

Cyborg explains and even throws in a jab at Anderson, for good measure.

I think that, since the UFC took so long to create the 145-pound division, most athletes signed with Bellator, Justino said. And thats why the girls in my division with a bigger name are in Bellator. Some are still at Invicta, too and I was supposed to fight one of them in Megan Anderson. But, due to lack of documents, shes not able to fight. And her irresponsibility, too.

Tonya accepted it a month before the fight, saving the event and my chance to fight. Shes from a lower division, but shes a top-10 at 135 pounds. She just never had a chance to fight in the UFC. And shes brave.I respect her for accepting the fight on short-notice. Like it or not, its a great opportunity for her to showcase her work in the UFC and, who knows, open doors for her to fight at 135.

As for the bizarre turn that De Randamies title reign took? Justino believes that at no point did she ever intend to meet Cyborg in the octagon. And that, she says, is part of a larger recent pattern of champions managing to bypass fights with rightful contenders.

Maybe she wanted to go back to her division, get the 135-pound belt, be the first one to get the two belts, Justino said. She acted in bad faith. She knew shed have to fight me to defend the belt.

You see it happening a lot in MMA over the past two or three years, a lot of people who are right there to fight for the belt are being held back. I dont think thats fair. I think if youre the champ, you need to face whomevers prepared to fight for the belt.

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