Cris Cyborg: “If I had an opportunity like McGregor to do one boxing fight, yeah I would like to do that”.
The Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor summer boxing extravaganza opened the floodgates for more potential crossover fights in MMA and boxing.
Just a couple of months after McGregor was TKO’d by Mayweather, UFC president Dana White announced his plans for Zuffa boxing, and the long-time fight promoter will meet with some major boxing figureheads to get the ball rolling in 2018.
One of the first fighters to reach out to White over a potential boxing bout was Cristiane Justino, better known as Cris Cyborg.
Cyborg has competed in multiple disciplines over the years, winning titles in MMA, wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but the UFC women’s featherweight champion has never stepped foot in the boxing ring for a professional fight.
After watching McGregor’s blockbuster boxing debut, Cyborg — along with a plethora of other fighters — would like a chance to compete in the squared circle.
“It would be really nice to finish my career and maybe do one boxing fight, but I don’t know if that will happen,” Cyborg said during a conference call ahead of her title defense against Holly Holm at UFC 219, per MMA Fighting’s Peter Carroll.
“Dana knows that. I told him if I had an opportunity like McGregor to do one boxing fight, yeah I would like to do that. I love my job, I love to fight and I love to compete.
“I don’t want to end my career and think about why I didn’t do it. I want to do it. I must train hard and do what I have in front of me when they have an opportunity for me.”
Although her next bout will be in the Octagon, Cyborg will get the chance to fight former multi-division boxing champion Holly Holm at UFC 219. The highly anticipated pay-per-view takes place this Saturday, Dec. 30 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.