Conor McGregor was seemingly not pleased to see one name high up on a recent list of top women’s MMA fighters. This week, ESPN released two lists ranking the top 10 male and female mixed martial artists of the 21st century.
The women’s list was topped by former two-division titleholder Amanda Nunes, who pipped Cris Cyborg and Ronda Rousey to the post, with the pair of ex-champs coming in at second and third, respectively. The entries included a description of each woman’s accomplishments in the game.
For Cyborg, that’s currently occupying the Bellator featherweight throne and formerly holding UFC, Strikeforce, and Invicta FC gold, making her the only fighter to win championships in four major MMA promotions. However, McGregor thinks ESPN missed out on a key piece of information.
“Cyborg is a convicted steroid cheat let’s not forget,” McGregor wrote in a now-deleted post on X. Cyborg tested positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid commonly used as a performance-enhancing drug, in December 2011. The California Athletic State Commission suspended Cyborg’s license for one year and fined her $2,500 for the indiscretion.
The Brazilian’s PED test failure remained a topic of conversation in the years that followed, with UFC CEO Dana White making reference to it prior to Cyborg’s bitter split from the promotion in 2019.
“We brought in her after she tested positive for ste*oids and we made her a clean athlete with the best d*ug testing policy in all of sports the entire time she was here,” White said. “When she talks about her legacy and her brand, her legacy and her brand, nothing’s better than knowing she’s a clean athlete after testing positive for steroids and all the negativity that surrounded her about being a dirty athlete.”
Cyborg hasn’t tested positive for banned substances aside from the 2011 case. When it comes to her legacy and spot in women’s MMA greatness, Cyborg appears far from done. While Nunes remains on the sidelines pondering a return from retirement, Cyborg has been pushing for her PFL debut since the promotion acquired Bellator.
