If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Holly Holm will have the distinction of welcoming Kayla Harrison to the Octagon at UFC 300 on April 13, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. And the former UFC women’s Bantamweight champion has enlisted the services of another ex-UFC title holder (and opponent) to get prepared for the 135-pound showdown.
Indeed, according to Cris Cyborg, she will head to Albuquerque, N.M., to help “The Preacher’s Daughter” polish her skills at the famed Jackson-Wink Academy ahead of the historic pay-per-view (PPV) event.
“I already have a date to go to Albuquerque – I’m very excited,” Cyborg said on her YouTube channel via MMA Junkie. “I talked to the team, talked to Holly – we’ve been studying Kayla for a little while already. I have been training for her already.
“I’m a super fan of Holly Holm,” Bellator MMA’s Featherweight champion continued. “I think she’s a legend. She’s a big example for female fighters. (I’ll) be a part of her camp, and I think she’s going to come with a great victory. It’s going to be good.”
Cyborg and Holm are familiar with each other, having competed against each other inside the Octagon at UFC 219 five years ago. After five rounds of action, Cyborg did enough to defend her title (highlights here), though she wound up losing it to Amanda Nunes exactly one year later (see it here).
Harrison vs. Cyborg has been swirling for some time now, with promoters offering a $3 million purse and a Rolls Royce as recently as 2022 to make the “super” fight happen. Harrison wanted it. Cyborg wanted it … but yet here we are.
Now, the chances of the fight happening are next to nill after Harrison surprised everyone and inked a deal with UFC.
But, it seems Cyborg is determined to have a part in defeating Harrison one way or another … even if she doesn’t actually get to put hands on her.
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