Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Cris Cyborg left a lot of blood in the Octagon last night (Sat., July 27, 2019) at UFC 240 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, but eventually came out with the unanimous decision win in her co-main event tilt with previously undefeated prospect Felicia Spencer.
Spencer came straight out of the gate with a huge lead elbow that split Cyborg’s forehead wide open. The featherweight newcomer followed up with heavy heat that angered the Brazilian. Spencer’s efforts were eventually met with powerful combinations from Cyborg, but the Canadian fighter seemed to absorb most of it.
Despite Spencer’s early momentum, Cyborg really started to take over in the second and third rounds. Spencer kept pushing the former UFC champion against the cage but was met with heavy knees in the clinch, combinations off the turn, and sharp punches when the action separated on the feet. Spencer kept moving forward but Cyborg’s expert level of striking and sheer strength were too much to handle.
Check out the highlights below courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
Cyborg is wasting no time! #UFC240 pic.twitter.com/6hRPXE1UDW
— UFC (@ufc) July 28, 2019
HUGE elbow by @FeeNom479 lands and @criscyborg returns fire #UFC240 pic.twitter.com/UBf2OZFmJZ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 28, 2019
She caught the kick @FeeNom479 is showing her toughness round 2??! #UFC240 pic.twitter.com/XdKk3geect
— UFC (@ufc) July 28, 2019
SMELLING BLOOD@criscyborg lands an elbow of her own #UFC240 pic.twitter.com/XI1RciDNUu
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 28, 2019
In the end, Cyborg did more than enough over the course of three rounds to hand Spencer her first career loss. Cyborg needs to work out a new contract with UFC, but this performance is exactly what she needed to lock down a rematch with current UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes, who knocked out Cyborg back in December.
For complete UFC 240 results and coverage click here.