Justino retains Invicta featherweight title in 45-second fight

Whether that brings the mixed martial arts world any closer to a mega-fight between Justino and UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey remains to be seen.

Justino, who closed as a minus-3000 favorite after betting on the underdog pushed the number down from an even higher price, steamrolled Faith Van Duin just 45 seconds into the first round.

The former Strikeforce champion was almost immediately asked whether she plans to try to get down from 145 pounds to Rousey’s 135-pound class to enter the UFC and set up a showdown against the superstar.

“I don’t know,” Justino said coyly after recording the easy victory on the day she turned 30.

She later indicated she plans to either fight at 145 pounds again as soon as September or try to cut to a catchweight of 140 pounds as a precursor to making 135 at some point.

Justino’s contract reportedly allows her to leave for the UFC if she is signed, but UFC president Dana White has said she must make 135 in an Invicta bout before being given an opportunity the his organization.

White has said the bout would between Rousey and Cyborg be the biggest women’s fight in history and could potentially be one of the most lucrative events the organization had ever done.

Justino has been calling for a bout against Rousey since she became champion, but has been very hesitant to commit to getting down to her weight class. She once even gave a news conference where she had doctors explain that the cut would be dangerous. The UFC does not have a 145-pound female division.

Her new challenge is for Rousey to compete at a catchweight, but no title would be on the line in that situation.

“Stop running, Ronda Rousey,” Justino said.

Rousey would undoubtedly respond she’s been waiting in plain sight.