One of the greatest fighters in women’s MMA history is staying put. Today, Bellator MMA announced that current featherweight champion and all-time great Cris Cyborg (26-2) is staying put. It was reported recently that the featherweight champ didn’t have a contract with the promotion.
It’s been over a year since Cyborg has fought in the Bellator cage. Her last two combat sports ventures have been in the boxing ring and she’s won both of those fights. It was up in the air until recently whether or not she would be returning to the promotion.
However, Scott Coker and Bellator remained confident that they’d get things taken care of and Cyborg would return to defend her title. Today, that news is official and Cyborg will conclude her career with the promotion.
“It’s not every day you have the opportunity to re-sign the greatest women’s mixed martial artist to ever compete in the sport, but that’s exactly what we have done with Cris Cyborg,” Scott Coker said via a press release.
“There is no female athlete who can match what Cris has done inside or out of the cage and my favorite part about Cris is her continued willingness to take on all comers. So, if you’re a free agent looking to compete in the best women’s featherweight division in all of MMA, come test yourself against Bellator’s Cris Cyborg.”
Cyborg’s Bellator Future
The writing is on the wall for Cyborg’s next fight. Even in the press release, the promotion mentioned two big names that are on the horizon for Cyborg. Those two names are former UFC title challengers Cat Zingano and Sara McMann.
Zingano has essentially been promised the next shot by the promotion. There’s been a lot of back-and-forth between Zingano and Cyborg. This is the biggest fight the promotion could make and I fully believe that will be next for Cyborg.
My assumption is that McMann will likely get a title eliminator in her next fight. Perhaps that would even be on the same card. No timetable on Cyborg’s next fight, but this is a big day for Bellator to re-sign their featherweight champion.