COSTA MESA, Calif. -- It might be a totally different situation in almost every way, but Cris Cyborg empathizes with Ronda Rousey.
In 2011, Cyborg was the Strikeforce women's featherweight champion and the pound-for-pound best female fighter on the planet. Then she popped for steroids after a win over Hiroko Yamanaka and was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission.
It was during that dark time that Cyborg said she found out who her real friends were. She suspects Rousey is going through something similar now. Rousey fell by second-round knockout to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November and has faced a harsh backlash from fans because of it.