Tonya Evinger on Bellator Talks, possible Cyborg rematch
Tonya Evinger’s future seems to include multiple paths outside of her usual Bantamweight efforts. Her present circumstance however is very similar to where the vast majority of us are at. The former Invicta FC bantamweight champion has had her lifestyle and usual training methodology affected by COVID-19.
Evinger stated, “Oh hell yeah, I think, for me, mostly, you know just everything is shut down and like no fights happening. So I don’t know if they’re gonna like all them fights are like stacked up and they got to get on and fighters fought, before they put me on a card, or what’s going on. So you know kind of nervous about when everything starts back up. I just don’t work out at all, I guess.”
The key excerpts from my interview with Tonya Evinger are below.
UFC departure
UFC departure
“I got released from UFC. Worst timing possible. I don’t think I’ve had injuries this bad. So it really jacked me up and then I had two of the worst performances of my career going into UFC. So I mean it kind of sucks the situation and, you know, I guess I’m not understanding or. I mean I don’t know how much they can understand if I fought like shit you know. But I’m planning on going to Bellator. They were looking at like fighting me this summer but I don’t know, I don’t know. When we’re all going to start back up and then if I had to wait by all the cards are backed up.”
Tonya Evinger on Bellator
Bellator talks
“I haven’t signed a contract yet. Focusing on there, on 145 and 125 touched 135, you know. I don’t really give a shit where I fight as long as it pays money. And 145 is a little bit big for me but, you know, they pay me money I’ll fight there. I’d much rather stay at 135. I did tell them that if I got my choice between 145 and 125, I would rather go with 125. I think I’d run through the division pretty good and you know, I don’t know if they’d let me have a chance at their champion.”
The former UFC pugilist quipped, “I don’t know how well she’s protected but you know at the end of the day, I would think they would want, you know, good fighters out there. Not just try to pick and choose, you know, who they can keep on top. So, if it was up to me I’d go 125. But then my two options are 45, 25 or 125. But I want to guarantee is like at least three fights a year. To stay down at that weight class, you know?”
Bellator’s flyweight division
“I think they got a good group of girls. I think I’m a sellable enough name. You know I think anytime you talk about UFC it’s who they like. It doesn’t matter if you can sell cards or whatever. If UFC ain’t willing to invest in you or put you on TV or promote you a little bit, I mean they can make anybody a star they want to make star, you know. So, you know, you see that a lot with really good looking kids that come in and they just can’t fight worth a shit. But they got the look and they got the background and they got whatever UFC wants to sell, but they don’t have the skills to back it up.”
Triple Threat continued, “So, you know, I think that it’s hard to get ahead in UFC unless UFC wants to pump you up. So Bellator, I think, for them… I don’t really see much promotion about any of their females. I don’t know who fights for them or when they’re even fighting, you know. Stuff that I never, ever catch wind of on social media or on TV or anything, kind of commercialized. So I don’t know crap about it unless I went on their website you know and actually looked it up.”
Cyborg and Bellator MMA
Finally, Evinger stated, “So I definitely think I could bring some attention to the weight class and to Bellator in general. I think have the right personality and stuff. And I guess it’s just getting with the right people and being able to talk to the right people to get the contract signed and figured out. They ended up having me fight 145 over in UFC. So I just kind of cut up and went over there and tried to jump on that fight with Cyborg real fast.”
“Well, I did get a message from somebody that usually is right on when they’re talking about this crap. They said that now that Cris has got the belt over there, nobody wants to fight her…I definitely think I would take the fight again.”
Tonya Evinger also gets into additional details on a prospective Cyborg rematch, how she rehabbed her devastating leg injury, how her tenure in Invicta FC has been a great deal different than with other promotions, and more!
Listen in to all of that and more in the interview with Tonya Evinger below!
