In the past few months, UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg has been campaigning for a super fight against UFC women’s bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes. Since winning their belts, both female Brazilian mixed martial artists continue to dominate in their respective divisions.
Amanda Nunes has already expressed interest in fighting Cris Cyborg, but she said that she needs a longer preparation time to move up to the featherweight division. In an appearance on Brazilian show Combate News , as reported by MMAjunkie , Cyborg revealed that the UFC offered her a fight with Nunes in September. Unfortunately, the super fight was moved on December 29 due to Nunes’ request.
“Friday, last week, I talked to the UFC, and I said I wanted to fight, that I’m ready to fight,” Cyborg said. “I’ve been training, ready, and I want to fight. They offered me September, the 8th, in Dallas, to fight Amanda. I said that’s fine. I’ll fight. I’ve been training. I’m ready. A champion has to be ready all the time. Then on Monday, they said (she) didn’t accept Sept. 8. Then I said I wanted to fight anyway. I want to fight. I don’t want to be idle. And then Amanda sent the picture, saying she accepted the fight on Dec. 29.”
Cris Cyborg thinks Amanda Nunes ‘will be my last’ fight in the UFC ( @guicruzzz ) https://t.co/i92yRdHx98 pic.twitter.com/jgQF9e9I0e
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 15, 2018
Cris Cyborg has no problem facing Amanda Nunes on a later date, but she wants another fight first. It has been four months since Cyborg last fought in the Octagon where she beat Yana Kunitskaya via TKO at UFC 222 . The UFC women’s featherweight champion believes it is unfair for her and other fighters on the bantamweight division aiming to dethrone Nunes to wait for one year to fight again.
With Nunes unlikely to defend the bantamweight title after her fight against Raquel Pennington at UFC 224 , Cyborg suggested that “The Lioness” should consider vacating the belt or the UFC should create an interim title for top contenders like Ketlen Vieira. Regarding her next opponent before fighting Nunes, Cyborg mentioned female featherweights from the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter , including Cindy Dandois and Ediane Gomes.
With her UFC contract about to expire in March, Cris Cyborg hinted at the possibility that her upcoming super fight against Amanda Nunes could be the last time people will see her fight in the Octagon. Regardless of the result of her fight in December, Cyborg may consider leaving the world of mixed martial arts to test her hands in the boxing ring. Cyborg said that being a boxer is her dream, but she would not close the door for a potential return to MMA.
