Former Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg is approaching her first-ever UFC title bout next month (Sat., July 29, 2017) when she takes on Megan Anderson for the vacant female 145-pound title in the co-main event of UFC 214.
Justino made her UFC debut back in May of 2016 when she met Leslie Smith inside the Octagon on the main card of UFC 198 on pay-per-view (PPV) from her hometown of Curitiba, Brazil. Cyborg won the bout via first-round knockout just after one minute into the contest. She followed that up with a second round finish over then-UFC newcomer Lina Lansberg last September in Brasilia, Brazil.
Cyborg has long advocated for a female 145-pound weight class to be implemented in the UFC, and she got that wish when the promotion paired former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie in the main event of UFC 208 this past February to crown the first ever women’s featherweight champ. “The Iron Lady” went on to win that contest via unanimous decision and was dubbed the first ever female 145-pound champion.
The Brazilian powerhouse was unable to partake in the historic bout due to the fact that she wasn’t given enough time to make the weight. Now, however, de Randamie has been stripped of her title due to her refusal to defend, and Cyborg now gets her crack at the gold when she takes on Megan Anderson, who has been called up from Invicta FC and vacated her own featherweight title to participate in the bout.
Anderson has won her past three fights inside the cage via early knockout, so Cyborg is taking her boxing training very serious heading into the fight. She has brought in North American Boxing Federation middleweight champ and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields for her camp, and video surfaced earlier this week of the pair’s sparing session. Check it out:
Me and @criscyborg sparring a small clip ?????? pic.twitter.com/PDYwhOEtDJ
— ClaressaT-rexShields (@Claressashields) June 25, 2017
Shields took to Twitter after the session to credit Cyborg’s power and also offered her some tips to improve her striking game as well. Cyborg returned the favor by helping the boxer work on her ground game:
Just finished sparring with @criscyborg ! Baby girl is strong! Also gave some tips after! Two baddest in the sports definitely!
— ClaressaT-rexShields (@Claressashields) June 25, 2017
Either I misread or miss wrote, but I gave Cris tips after us sparring, she gave me tips on the ground though. ???????????? https://t.co/O0FCMhPQ3u
— ClaressaT-rexShields (@Claressashields) June 26, 2017
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