The waiting game is over for the Bellator women’s featherweight division.
Champion Cris Cyborg has re-signed with the promotion in what Bellator called an “exclusive, multi-fight contract,” and one it said in a news release was an “historic” deal. Terms were not disclosed.
Cyborg (26-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) most recently fought a little more than a year ago with a unanimous decision title defense against Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 279. But after her contract was up, she decided to explore free agency. The months-long process had Bellator president Scott Coker regularly asked for Cyborg’s status, and he continually said he was hopeful she would be back in the fold.
“After receiving multiple offers from several promotions, I’m very happy that I was able to come to terms with Bellator and remain the face of their women’s featherweight division,” Cyborg said in a news release. “Scott Coker is a promoter that I’ve worked with and respected for many years. He’s done so much to further women’s MMA and give us a platform to showcase our skills.
“When making this decision, it was important to me that I was signing with the organization that I felt had the biggest names and the top talent at 145 pounds for me to challenge myself against. There is no question that all the top female featherweights are signed with Bellator and I can’t wait to get back in there and defend my belt.”
After four straight stoppage wins to start her Bellator tenure, all in title fights, in their rematch Blencowe was the first woman to take Cyborg the distance in the promotion. While she explored free agency, Cyborg stayed busy with a pair of boing matches in the last quarter of the year and won both.
News of her new contract may be welcome news to other Bellator women’s featherweights who now at least know who their target should be. Former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Sara McMann recently made her Bellator debut with a win over Blencowe and said she didn’t think it was fair for Cyborg to hold up the title picture.
McMann is in the mix, but ahead of her in line and all but certain to be Cyborg’s next test is fellow former UFC title challenger Cat Zingano, who is coming off a win over Leah McCourt and is 4-0 since she came to Bellator from the UFC. Zingano is the No. 1 contender in Bellator’s official rankings, and McMann was No. 2 after her promotional debut win in Hawaii less than two weeks ago.
“It’s not every day you have the opportunity to re-sign the greatest women’s mixed martial artist to ever compete in the sport, but that’s exactly what we have done with Cris Cyborg,” Coker said in a release. “There is no female athlete who can match what Cris has done inside or out of the cage, and my favorite part about Cris is her continued willingness to take on all comers.”
Cyborg is the only fighter in history to hold titles for Bellator, the UFC, Invicta and Strikeforce. She was unbeaten for more than 13 years until she was stunned by UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, who moved up in weight to try for a second title. Cyborg won one more UFC fight after that, then made the move to Bellator and won the belt in her fights bout with the promotion.
