Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is no longer in the Cris Cyborg business, according to promotion president, Dana White, which is good news for competing organizations like Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League (PFL).
That’s because the Brazilian is one of the most popular female fighters of all time and will no doubt improve visibility wherever she ends up, which is why PFL head cheese, Ray Sefo, is making a play for the power-punching featherweight.
“Absolutely, we’re interested in Cris Cyborg,” Sefo told MMA Fighting. “Cris Cyborg is a legend. She’s in a situation where she’s shopping right now. She’s probably talking to Bellator, ONE FC and so on, so we’ll see. For her, I would love to sign her but we’ll just have to wait and see how that all pans out.”
One thing PFL can offer that other promotions can’t is the opportunity to fight undefeated lightweight and two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison, who is 5-0 under the PFL banner with four finishes.
“Come on down, Cris,” Harrison told MMA Fighting. “It would be great. Listen, whether or not she loses to Amanda [Nunes], she’s still one of the greatest and to be the greatest, you’ve got to beat one of the greatest. So I’m happy to take that fight on, I’m happy to climb that mountain and take on that challenge.”
While the mixed martial arts (MMA) world waits for Cyborg to make up her mind, Harrison will move on to face Genah Fabian at PFL 7 in October.