When all is said and done, Cris Cyborg will go down as one of the best female MMA fighters of all-time, especially in the featherweight division. Over the past couple of months, she has been having problems with UFC president Dana White who kept refusing to grant her wish of a rematch with Amanda Nunes. White eventually released Cyborg from her contract which made her a free agent in the world of mixed martial arts. In a move that will shock pretty much no one who follows the sport, Cyborg announced recently that she has joined Bellator. According to the Twitter account of Bellator president Scott Coker, this is the biggest female MMA contract in the history of the sport.
"Hey Cyborg Nation fans, I'm very excited to announce that I'm going to be partnering with Scott Coker and Viacom -- I'll be fighting Bellator," Cyborg explained. "And, you guys know I have a lot of girls that want to fight at 145 pounds and this means you're going to have a lot of fights per year and I'm very happy about that."
Cyborg's first fight will be against Julia Budd who is the reigning Bellator Featherweight champion. As the MMA legend explained, she has some pretty lofty goals now that she's part of Bellator and hopes to achieve them sooner than later.
"My goal is going to be the only female fighter holding four different major titles in the same division and I know with you guys I can do that," she said. "And, I just want to say, Cyborg Nation, Welcome to Bellator!"
It will be interesting to see what she's able to do with this deal moving forward.