UFC Entertaining The Possibility Of Cris Cyborg Fighting At ‘UFC 198: Werdum Vs. Miocic’ — Who Will The Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Fight?
In women’s mixed martial arts (MMA) today, Cristiane Justino, better known as Cris Cyborg, is one of the best the sport has to offer. Undefeated in 15 fights spanning more than a decade, she has dominated the women’s featherweight division in five different promotions including EliteXC and Strikeforce. Currently, Cyborg is fighting in Invicta Fighting Championships (Invicta FC) as the current Invicta FC Featherweight Champion.
As a matter of fact, Cris Cyborg can be considered the best female MMA fighter in the world today and has now surpassed Ronda Rousey in fight record which consists, as mentioned earlier, an undefeated streak of 15 fights, all but two of them ending in either technical knockout or knockout. It is even believed that Cris Cyborg holds the cards in a possible super fight between her and “Rowdy.”
Despite Cris Cyborg’s accolades and contributions to the sport, she has never competed in the top MMA promotion in the world, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). However, that may change as MMA news outlets are reporting that UFC and Dana White are entertaining the idea of having Cris Cyborg fight at UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic.
Cris Cyborg competing at UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic came about when anonymous close sources said it was possible to MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, who later reported it last Wednesday, March 16, on UFC Tonight, as reported by MMA Fighting. Besides that little bit of information, not much is known on what UFC wants to do, but it makes perfect sense to have Cyborg compete at the upcoming premier event.
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UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic will have its venue in the gargantuan Arena da Baixada that seats 42,000 in Curitiba, Brazil. What some people may not realize is the location of the venue is Cris Cyborg’s hometown. Ergo, Cyborg is currently campaigning aggressively to compete at UFC 198.
“It has been almost 10 years since I last fought in my home country of Brazil. I am very lucky that over the last decade my Brazilian fans have continued to support me and my career as I chased my dreams as a world champion, while living and competing in America.
“This May the UFC will be promoting an event in my hometown of Curitiba, Brazil, a city very rich in fight history. It would be an honor to return back to the city I was born in, and to step inside of the Octagon with an opportunity to prove myself as one of the best female fighters in the sport.”
Presently, UFC does not have a women’s featherweight division and their heaviest women’s division is bantamweight. Cris Cyborg will have to drop a total of 10 pounds if she wants to compete. However, UFC might make an exception for Cyborg and have her fight at a catchweight. UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate expressed her openness to fight Cyborg at a catchweight, as reported by MMA Junkie. “Cupcake” made it known she would do such a fight so she could remain active and not wait around until Ronda Rousey’s targeted return later in November.
It is also good business for UFC to have Cris Cyborg on the fight card in her hometown, especially with her win streak going up recently when she knocked out Daria Ibragimova (video attached above). If her participation were made official, the anticipation and hype alone will certainly drive live seating and pay-per-view sales. UFC can even inflate the price a bit to make more profit and people will still buy just to see Cyborg compete back home. What better way to top off UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic than with the fighter earning her official 16th win in her hometown.
UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic will take place on Saturday, May 14, 2016, in the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil. Besides the possibility of Cris Cyborg competing, UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabrício Werdum will defend his championship against Stipe Miocic.
[Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images]
