Bellator featherweight champion Cris Cyborg does not want to be called the best female fighter of all-time.
The only woman to ever win titles at Strikeforce, Bellator, Invicta and UFC still remains humble when looking back at her legacy. Despite her impressive record, Cris Cyborg does not like it when people call her the best female fighter of all-time, and she has some sound reasons to support her point of view.
In an interview with Super Lutas, Cyborg pointed out the dangers of believing in one’s own hype and how damaging that might be to her career. The way she sees it, remaining humble prevents a fighter from getting too comfortable and keeps them from learning more.
“I’ve always heard people say that, but I never gave it much attention. I always think that I need to improve. I’m very hard on myself. In all my training sessions, I try to do my best. I believe that, when you think you’re the best of all-time, you stop learning. So I always kept that out of my mind, because I still want to learn much more.”
A will to keep on learning is just one of the reasons Cyborg has to not take on the title of WMMA GOAT, though. In her point of view, calling herself the greatest would be unfair to all the other women who helped build the sport, before and after her.
“Many women did a lot for the sport. Me, Gina Carano, Amanda Nunes, who has won two belts. I think many women are part of this. Before me, other women were already fighting: Ana Marina India, Carina Damm, Carmem ‘Casca Grossa’. All the girls who are fighting now, they are building it, too. You can’t name one. We are all achieving the same, which is making WMMA grow.”
In her last outing, Cris Cyborg (23-2-1 NC) tapped out Arlene Blencowe via rear-naked choke to defend her Bellator featherweight belt for the first time. Before that, the 35-year-old also scored wins over Julia Budd and Felicia Spencer. Her last loss happened in December 2018, when she got knocked out by Amanda Nunes.