Tonya Evinger on why she took Cris Cyborg fight: ‘I’m not a puss’

Tonya Evinger’s absence from the UFC roster has been a talking point for hardcore women’s MMA fans for years now, stretching all the way back to her poor performance on TUF 18, when she was submitted by Raquel Pennington in her opening round bout. Since that loss ‘Triple Threat’ has gone on a 7-0 (1 NC) winning streak, making her debut for Invicta FC and picking up the promotion’s bantamweight title along the way.

For many, she was unquestionably the best bantamweight not on the UFC roster. That’s no longer the case.

Evinger will make her promotional debut at UFC 214, taking a short notice bout at featherweight, against top pound-for-pound talent Cris Cyborg. It’s a jump straight into the deep end for Evinger, who told MMA Fighting that she expected nothing less if she ever got a chance to go to the UFC.

“I knew they weren’t gonna give me any kind of easy run,” Evinger said. “I knew I was going to get something as tough as they possibly could. But whatever, I’m here to fight.”

Despite the challenge, Evinger sounded confident of her chances, saying that she believes she can and will be Cyborg’s toughest test to date.

“I think I’m her biggest challenge to date,” Evinger told MMA Fighting. “I’m not taking anything away from any of them other girls. All of them are good in their own right. It’s just my style, anyway. I think I’m gonna be the toughest challenge for her.”

But that confidence isn’t the only reason she’s taking the bout, as she also revealed that if she passed on the opportunity, she would be kicking herself for the rest of her life.

“You know what? I’m not a puss,” Evinger said. “I know it’s a struggle to get to 145 for her. I know what it is. It doesn’t matter, man. I’ll go home and I’ll regret this for the rest of my life. ‘I could have beat her, maybe. I don’t know. Maybe I should have took the fight. Why was I such a puss?’ I was scared to fight at 145? That’s not me, man. I’m not saying I’m gonna go out there and fight at 170 pounds tomorrow or the next fight or anything like that, but [145] is realistic. This ain’t too far off.

“I do think I’m really dominant at 135. I think I can definitely dominate at [145] and i think I can dominate at [125].”

She also had a few choice words for Germaine de Randamie’s decision to turn down a fight with Cyborg, saying “There’s no way that being a champion you should be able to pick and choose your opponents. I’m there to fight. If I get beat, so be it. I’m not gonna not fight somebody to protect my championship belt. That’s ridiculous.”

UFC 214 takes place on July 29th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event is expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. Cris Cyborg vs. Tonya Evinger is slated to be one of two other title fights on the card, alongside Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia.