A fight between the 135 and 145 pound women’s champions will go down July 7th … if the UFC can come to terms with Cyborg’s manager.
Building the women’s featherweight division will have to wait. First, it looks like champ Cris Cyborg will be taking on women’s bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes at UFC 226 on July 7th.
Cyborg herself announced the news on her Instagram account, which she noted would happen so long as her manager and the UFC can work out the bout agreement.
I have agreed to fight @amanda_leoa July 7th in Las Vegas as part of #UFC226 and #InternationalFightWeek. I am now waiting for my manager to work with the @ufc on a bout agreement so we can make #CyborgVNunes #TheSuperFight official.
Cyborg was initially hesitant regarding the bout, asking the UFC to instead line her up with an actual 145 pound fighter rather than another 135 pound opponent. Now we just have to hope the details can be worked out. Past Cyborg fights haven’t come together easily, as many who have said they’re willing to fight Cris start getting awful squeamish as soon as a contract is sent their way.
That hesitance to sign a deal shouldn’t be taken as fear, though. Most opponents mainly want to be compensated fairly for stepping up in weight to fight the hard hitting Brazilian champ. In this case, we’re sure both Cyborg and Nunes will be demanding a chunk of the pay-per-view proceeds. Whether the UFC is willing to pay them what they feel they’re worth for this first ever superfight between female champs remains to be seen.
UFC 226 goes down July 7th from Las Vegas, Nevada and will anchor the promotion’s International Fight Week. As of this article, no other fights have been announced although flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson has voiced the possibility of another champion vs champion fight with bantamweight title holder TJ Dillashaw.