Right now, Bellator is facing a problem in their women’s featherweight division. They have arguably the greatest female featherweight of all time as their champion in Cris Cyborg (26-2). However, there seems to be a lack of challengers.
Or at least, that’s what her last title defense would tell you. Cyborg last fought at Bellator 279 when she took on Arlene Blencowe. It was the second time that she had defended her title against Blencowe, the first coming back in 2020.
The first fight was completely one-sided and once again, Cyborg won in convincing fashion at Bellator 279. That win moved Cyborg to 6-0 during her run in Bellator with all six wins coming in title defenses.
There is one challenger out there who we haven’t seen take on Cyborg. A challenger that is undefeated in Bellator and a challenger that has some name recognition. They’ve been tied together for some time, but the fight has always failed to materialize. Now, it’s the time to make this matchup happen.
Bellator Needs to Book Cyborg – Zingano
The next challenger for the Bellator featherweight title needs to be “Alpha” Cat Zingano (13-4). Zingano just won again last week at Bellator 282 and is now 3-0 since joining the promotion. The former UFC title challenger seems like the biggest challenge to the greatness of Cyborg.
For one reason or another, the fight hasn’t come together yet. However, it’s the one fight for Cyborg in Bellator. It’s been documented that Cyborg’s contract is coming to an end, but before it does, this fight needs to happen.
I’m anticipating Cyborg will stay with Bellator, but don’t be shocked to see the PFL make a run. I know they want to book the Kayla Harrison fight and that’s something that would be even bigger than the Zingano fight.
However, when looking at the talent pool in the promotion, there’s no other fight to make.