Cris Cyborg stands firm in her belief that Kayla Harrison is the reason why they still haven’t met inside the cage.
The Cyborg vs. Harrison is one of the fights many MMA fans have been waiting for. With PFL’s acquisition of Bellator and the promotion of having its PFL vs. Bellator event next month, many expected the pair to join the lineup. However, this didn’t happen, and Cyborg believes the PFL counterpart is the one to be blamed.
Cyborg started her accusations against her fellow fighter earlier this month, saying Harrison “declined” the offer of PFL for them to enter the cage. However, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani recently explained the reasons why the bout between the two still hasn’t materialized. According to Helwani, it might have something to do with Harrison’s contract, which only allows the fighter to fight until last November. The journalist also pointed out that with Cyborg set to box Kelsey Wickstrum this Friday, fighting next month right away for MMA is an issue.
Yet, Cyborg recently claimed that she accepted the fight despite knowing the second reason shared by Helwani, adding her side already agreed last month with PFL, which sent them contracts. For the champ, the only reason why their name was not included in the February event of the promotion is because Harrison refused to take the offer.
“You know, supposed to be my name there against Kayla Harrison,” Cyborg said on Unlocking the Cage. “Peter from PFL, he called and contacted us at Christmas and say ‘Cris, you like to fight Kayla Harrison next event?’ and I say yes. We already been working, been training for this fight and they say ‘okay, we’re gonna send you the contracts so you’ll know the date and where’ and I say I just have my boxing fight but we agree. We agree everything. So, I think the other side didn’t agree because they never send their contract.”
While this sounds plausible, it is important to note that PFL founder Donn Davis shared in November that the company will give Cryborg first to PFL two-weight champion Larissa Pacheco. According to the executive, while there is a plan to put Cyborg against Harrison in the future, the Bellator fighter would have to face Pacheco first.
“It’s champ versus champ,” Davis said in November. “Larissa’s earned that but then will Cris fight Kayla in 2024? One hundred percent, that is going to happen. Cris will have two fights in 2024. Kayla will have two fights in 2024. One of those will be Cris against Kayla, but we think that Larissa’s earned that.”
