Cris Cyborg says she didn't call out Ronda Rousey because 'tonight was my moment'

After finally making her UFC debut on Saturday night, Cristiane Justino made a lot of people wonder just how much destruction she could create in the women's bantamweight division.

"Cyborg" scored an emphatic first-round TKO over Leslie Smith at a 140-pound catchweight at UFC 198 in her native Curitiba, Brazil. Though it was her first time in the Octagon, it was par for the course. Justino -- Invicta FC's featherweight champion -- has won seven of her previous 10 fights via first-round KO or TKO.

With the partition down and the spotlight hot, many thought she might take the opportunity to call out Ronda Rousey after her win over Smith, given that the two have been on a collision course going back to their Strikeforce days.

Yet "Cyborg" opted not to. Why?

"I believe that it was my moment, tonight was my moment and it was historic," she said in the post-fight press conference. "I never thought I'd be sitting here tonight. So take a lot of pictures. I never thought I'd be here after everything that I went through. It was a historic moment for me. Talking about [Rousey] is not something...it's something people are going to talk about, but I let my fans decide who my opponent will be and I just be ready."

Though the UFC doesn't have a women's featherweight division, there has been talk for the last couple of years that Justino might one day get down to 135 pounds to challenge the ex-champion Rousey.

Yet of late the 30-year old Justino has said that she no longer has any intentions of fighting as a bantamweight, and she reiterated that stance after Saturday night.

"I've been training for two years to be able to make weight yesterday, and I felt very well tonight," she said. "And I believe I can do other superfights. But I'm going to continue in my weight class. I've been champion for some time, and I want female MMA to grow, and I don't think it's the right thing for me to abandon my weight class."

As for her performance, Justino seemed to be pretty content with her work against Smith.

"I think I did my best," she said. "I like to go for the knockout. If you watch my fights that's what I like to do. I have good wrestling, jiu-jitsu. I've been doing judo for the past year to fight with someone. But I've been waiting for the opportunity. That's it. I'm prepared."