For the first time in her UFC career, Cris Cyborg suffered a loss, and in devastating fashion, when Amanda Nunes earned the knockout victory in the very first round of their UFC 232 co-main event. This victory would make Nunes the third ever featherweight champion in the company and the only person to stop Cyborg inside the Octagon. Cyborg initially took the loss as could be expected, but she remains grateful for everything she accomplished prior to the crushing defeat and at peace with how everything unfolded:
“I couldn’t sleep the first night and I definitely couldn’t watch the fight again,” Cyborg told the Las Vegas Review recently. “It was just something that happened. I feel blessed to have stayed undefeated for 13 years. I was sad for a few days, but I always just leave it in God’s hands. It’s up to me to train as hard as I can, but the victory is in his hands. If he chooses to bless someone else that day, I cannot be upset because he has the best plan for us.”
Many fans have joined Cris Cyborg in campaigning for a rematch with Nunes, but both Nunes and Dana White have expressed a disinterest in an immediate rematch. Cyborg has had to make peace with this reality as well.
“If I don’t get it, I’m not going to be surprised,” Cyborg said of the rematch. “I’m going to continue working hard. You can’t be upset at things you can’t control. But I want that fight really bad.”
With only one fight on her contract, it is worth wondering if a rematch against Nunes will even be possible. There have been rumors recently of Cyborg exploring other venues, including potentially entering the boxing arena. But if things go her way, Cyborg will stay put in the UFC.
“I’m going to try to work with them because I want to be here,” she said. “I think people like watching my fight and my fans follow me wherever I fight. But I brought my fans with me to the UFC. I was ‘Cyborg’ before the UFC. The UFC didn’t make me. If they don’t want to work with me, of course I’ll be sad. But I know my star will shine no matter where I am because I love doing my job.”
What do you believe the future holds for Cris Cyborg?
