MMA
Julia Budd loves the fact she's a significant underdog against Cris Cyborg at Bellator 238
As soon as it was announced that Julia Budd would make the fourth defense of her Bellator women's featherweight title against Cris "Cyborg" Justino at Saturday's Bellator 238 (live on DAZN), those involved in MMA and the people involved in the betting circles felt the former UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC 145-pound champion would run through the current titlist because of the two losses on her resume to UFC women's bantamweight and featherweight titleholder Amanda Nunes and former 135-pound champ Ronda Rousey.
When Budd heard that online sportsbook Bovada had Cyborg installed as a significant favorite at -450 and herself at a considerable underdog, coming in +325, the Canadian embraced what everyone is feeling.
"I’m just like, ‘Okay guys’," Budd told DAZN News. "I love being considered the underdog. It really doesn’t matter to me. You can consider me up, down, or, however, people view it. But I know what I bring to the table and I’m very confident in my skills."
Some fighters would take a look at those numbers and just shrug them off, look the other way and continue to prepare for the battle that looms ahead. For Budd, it made her run the extra mile, work on her grappling for a couple of more minutes and throw a few punches than she usually would into the heavy bag.
"It fueled my fire," Budd said. "I love that people feel I don’t have a shot. I love the haters. I love the ones that support me. I welcome it. It’s motivation. For as long as I’ve been in the sport now, you just have to know how to learn to use everything as fuel because then it’s just useless energy otherwise."
Budd (13-2) rides an 11-fight winning streak against the woman some feel is the greatest female fighter of all time. The 36-year-old knows the ups and downs of her career have led Budd to this moment in time. She plans on crashing the party, defying the odds and earning the most significant victory of her career.
"I’d love to get a finish in there," Budd said. "It means that it shows affirmation to everything I’m doing in my training and the process of getting to this point in time and that it was all worth something. I’m prepared for anything, but I am prepared for a fantastic finish."
