Is This the End of Cris Cyborg in the UFC? The Brazilian Legend Ended Her Contract With the Promotion Following a Tough Clash With Felicia Spencer in Edmonton…
Let there be no questions about how good Cris Cyborg is. Until she tried to blitz Amanda Nunes and got savagely knocked out for her recklessness, there was little doubt that she was the best female fighter in the history of the sport. While the Lionness may have usurped that title, Cyborg remains a phenomenal talent at featherweight, the likes of which we may never see again.
The UFC definitely might not because Cyborg is set to test free agency after completing her contract. She’s in a great bargaining position. After grinding out a hard-fought win over an incredibly tough Spencer, she could sign a one-fight deal to take on Amanda Nunes (the champion’s clause means she would have to defend the title if she won). Or she could move to Bellator.
Anyway, she first had to get past Spencer and boy, did the Canadian prove a tough cookie. It was dominant in the end by Cyborg, but both women came out of this one with their stock raised. Check out the highlights below.
🇧🇷 Cyborg is wasting no time! #UFC240 pic.twitter.com/6hRPXE1UDW
— UFC (@ufc) July 28, 2019
Battle
There were gasps in Edmonton when Spencer landed the first meaningful strike of the night. She opened up a cut on Cyborg’s face with an elbow, but that only served to stoke the fire in the Brazilian. Cyborg had a massive power deficit over her game opponent and she went to town, throwing hard, heavy shots at the Canadian.
Spencer absorbed a lot of damage throughout this fight and clearly wanted it to go to the ground. At one point in the second round, she pulled guard, but that almost proved to be her undoing, as Cyborg unleashed a barrage of ground-and-pound.
Then in the third, Spencer continued to look for the take-down. Cyborg timed her destructive shots to perfection, landing at will against her brave opponent. In the end, the Brazilian would eke out a clear decision win. Her highlight moment was a heavy elbow that had Spencer in all sorts of trouble.
Felicia cuts Cyborg with an elbow. #UFC240 pic.twitter.com/PFM5J5HBE4
— Fight Night Tweets & GIFS W/Jeremy Ginger (@jginger77) July 28, 2019
What Next?
After the fight Cyborg made it clear that she’d love to run back the Nunes fight. However, her manager will do the talking. Scott Coker was in the house and posted a picture to Instagram with the former featherweight queen. Bellator actually has a functioning 145lb division so it will be fascinating to see what her next move is now that she’s a free agent. Cyborg said:
“Our sport is growing and growing, getting better and better girls. It just makes me happy because when I started doing MMA, we didn’t have any girls. To see girls in the cage makes me proud. I’m going to let the UFC talk to my manager. I just wanted to get this victory first and of course, I want Amanda (Nunes) I asked for the rematch after that fight.”
Cyborg finished it with a BANG! #UFC240 pic.twitter.com/xal84Py7k3
— Champion Sports Productions (@ChampSportsProd) July 28, 2019
Full Results
For full results from a night of action in Edmonton see below:
Max Holloway def. Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision.
Cris Cyborg def. Felicia Spencer via unanimous decision.
Geoff Neal def. Niko Price via second-round TKO.
Arman Tsarukyan def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier via unanimous decision.
Krzysztof Jotko def. Marc-Andre Barriault via split decision.
Viviane Araujo def. Alexis Davis via unanimous decision.
Hakeem Dawodu def. Yoshinori Horie via third-round TKO.
Gavin Tucker def. Seung Woo Choi via submission (RNC).
Deiveson Figueiredo def. Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision.
Gillian Robertson def. Sarah Frota via second-round TKO.
Erik Koch def. Kyle Stewart via unanimous decision.
