Cris Cyborg won’t have to wait long for a title opportunity in her new home at Bellator MMA.
The former UFC featherweight champion announced on Tuesday that she would be joining the Bellator roster after agreeing terms with the promotion following the completion of her UFC contract and the organization’s president, Scott Coker, says she will be tested immediately by Bellator 145-pound champion Julia Budd.
“She definitely deserves it,” Coker said to MMA Junkie. “She was fighting once a year. That’s what she’s complaining about. We can definitely put her into the cage, I want to say, two or three times a year.”
It may not just be mixed martial arts that the Brazilian striker competes in, as Coker also said that there are potential opportunities for her in boxing — something that Cyborg has openly stated as an ambition.
“MMA is going to be her first commitment, but if she wants to box, I’m all about it,” Coker elaborated. “But we’re going to be a part of it. You might see her boxing on DAZN a couple times a year or once a year.
“We’re going to keep her much more active, and two, they’re not in the 145-pound weight class business, and we are. So to me, it’s something I think that we’ve been growing this weight class for the last two, three years, and Cyborg is a great addition to it.
“She will have girls in her weight class to fight, whereas in the UFC, I think it was like, let’s see who we can sign to fight her for a one-off, or make people move up to fight her from a different weight class. But the commitment was never to start a 145-pound weight class – it was always somebody just to fight her. I think that’s the difference. We’ll do this one right.”
