To be honest, we the media tend to over-hype events and fights.
Especially when it comes to the UFC.
Maybe it is because we want to get on the “good” side of UFC president Dana White and other officials. Maybe it is just for “clicks” and more exposure.
I’ve done it. Other writers have done it. You’d honestly be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t.
But next Saturday night, two of the very best combat sports fighters in the female ranks will step inside the Octagon against one another in the main event of UFC 219.
Cris Cyborg, the defending UFC female featherweight champion, defends her title against ex-UFC female bantamweight champion Holly Holm from Las Vegas to close out the year.
And yes, this really, truly is a super-fight.
Cyborg, who turned 32 years old in July, finally made her long-awaited UFC debut in 2016 by destroying Leslie Smith. She followed that performance up with a win over Lina Lansberg before claiming the vacant belt with a finish of Tonya Evinger in shortly after her birthday.
The Brazilian has lost just once in her career, which came in 2005 in her debut via submission. A no-contest is the only other blunder on her resume to go along with achieving gold in Strikeforce and Invicta FC.
Holm, meanwhile, won the bantamweight belt when she stunned Ronda Rousey in 2015. A former multi-time boxing world champion in three different weight classes, the 36-year-old picked up “Fighter of the Year” awards twice for her efforts in boxing.
In 2013, Holm improved to 33-2-3 in boxing by defending her IBA and WBF light welterweight belts with a victory over Mary McGee. She moved solely to MMA after and has posted an 11-3 record.
For as accomplished as Rousey was prior to MMA in judo, when you think about boxing and MMA, there are not two female fighters out there competing that are more acclaimed and recognized then Cris Cyborg or Holly Holm.
That is why the bout is a super-fight in all its glory.
