Cyborg's UFC debut finally has a date, but why did it take so long?

The stated reason keeping Cris “Cyborg” Justino out of the UFC over the past several years was that the former Strikeforce and current Invicta featherweight champion competes at 145 pounds and the company’s heaviest women’s division is 135.

Though fans longed for a superfight between Justino and rival Ronda Rousey, Rousey refused to budge on the notion of contesting such a matchup anywhere except in her weight class during her long bantamweight title reign, ruling out meeting somewhere in the middle.

And UFC president Dana White, always the smart promoter, stuck by his one-woman pay-per-view money-making machine.

“[Justino] has to make the weight,” White told reporters as recently as last summer. “She has to make the weight, she has to fight, and she has to be healthy.”

So it had to come as a surprise to those who haven’t recently paid close attention to Justino’s saga when the UFC announced Monday that she would meet Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith at a catchweight of 140 pounds at UFC 198 on May 14 at Brazil’s Arena Atletico Paranaense.

The fight card, which is expected to draw upwards of 45,000 people to the outdoor venue, already features a who’s who in Brazilian MMA, from current UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum to former titleholders Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

So it only made sense to find a place for Justino, the greatest women’s fighter in the history of Brazilian women’s MMA.

But still, what accounts for the sudden change in stance?

Well, for one thing, the fans have spoken loud and clear that in 2016, they enjoy seeing fun fights every bit as much as they enjoy title bouts. Fans flocked to the UFC 196 welterweight matchup between featherweight champion Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, who usually competes at lightweight; it was a bout that delivered in the Octagon and is believed to be among the biggest-money PPV fights in UFC history.

That the UFC is expected to go with Diaz-McGregor 2 at UFC 200 instead of having McGregor defend his featherweight belt says all you need to know about the direction in which things seemed to be headed. So why not make interesting fights for the 30-year-old Justino, who hasn’t lost a fight since 2005?

Then there are the shifting sands atop the women’s bantamweight division. Rousey continually balked at the notion of moving up from 135 pounds to meet Justino. But the two women who have held the title since, Holly Holm and Miesha Tate, have no problem meeting Justino halfway between bantamweight and featherweight.

“I am open to that fight," Tate told fans at a recent Q & A session in Brisbane, Australia. "Maybe doing it at a catchweight at 140. You know, I have nothing but respect for ‘Cyborg.' She freaking eats girls for breakfast. She's amazing. ... I would love to step in there with someone of her caliber.”

It could also simply come down to the UFC deciding to maximize an underutilized asset it already has under contract. Justino has been paid by Zuffa, the UFC’s parent company, while competing in the Invicta promotion. But the roster at 145 pounds is dreadfully thin. She’s finished all five of her opponents in the company, three in 46 seconds or fewer. And while Justino’s 2011 steroid suspension in California has been held against her, the San Diego-based Justino (15-1, 1 NC) has passed every test administered since, both by state athletic commissions and USADA, making it less of an issue with the passage of time.

(And hey, with Bellator recently announcing it will add a 145-pound women’s class, and Justino having a good relationship with current Bellator CEO and former Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker, it can’t hurt to keep Justino happy).

So with the UFC showing more flexibility in its matchmaking, with no real challenges left for Justino in Invicta, and with a pair of marquee names in Tate and Holm indicating their willingness to fight Justino down the road, the time was right to bring Cyborg on board.

As for Justino’s opponent, Smith (8-6-1) is not as well known as the other UFC names that have been linked with Cyborg. But hardcore fans know her to be one of the most exciting fighters on the women’s side of the sport, win or lose. Maybe that’s because she trains in Northern California with the legendary Cesar Gracie, the man who helped mold the wildly popular Diaz brothers.

And, perhaps learning by osmosis, Smith has shown she never backs down from a challenge. Smith, who has fought as low as flyweight, won Fight of the Night honors in three consecutive Invicta bouts, then took her first UFC fight, a decision loss to former Strikeforce bantamweight champ Sarah Kaufman, on just a week’s notice. Since then, she’s rebounded to win two out of her next three fights, including a decision over Rin Nakai in Australia on March 20.

So while Twitter was busy making jokes about Smith being a sacrificial lamb to Cyborg, she clearly isn’t afraid of the challenge, simply tweeting “It’s on :).”

But is it on for just one night? Or will we finally see Justino in superfights with the biggest names in women’s MMA? Stay tuned.

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