Tag: Julia Budd

Don’t expect Bellator women’s featherweight champion Julia Budd to be a pushover for Cris Cyborg.

Budd defends her title against Cyborg at Bellator 238 which takes place January 25 in Inglewood, California. For Cyborg, it will be her first Bellator fight with many expecting her to come away with the gold.

But Budd plans on ruining her debut as she is even more motivated to make a statement and remind everyone that this is her division:

“It does feel different,” Budd told MMA Junkie. “It feels different because of who she is, who she’s been in the 145-pound division, which I feel like is my division and I feel like I’ve got to go out there and make a statement.

“It’s been extra motivation this whole camp and I’m just excited to go out there and defend my belt.”

Budd is not taking Cyborg lightly either. The former UFC star suffered a knockout defeat to Amanda Nunes in December 2018 — her first loss in more than 13 years.

She followed it up with a unanimous decision win over Felicia Spencer, but it wasn’t the most comfortable victory especially as Cyborg was cut during the fight. Budd, however, is preparing for the best Cyborg and believes it was a matter of fate that they’d end up fighting each other:

“I prepare for every opponent like they’re going to be the toughest opponent I’m getting into the cage with,” Budd added. “I’m preparing for the very best Cris Cyborg. I’ve watched all her fights, all the good ones, I watched the Amanda Nunes fight.

“I’ve watched everything her whole career because I’ve known about her my whole career. I’ve always known we’d face each other, but this is just the perfect time.”

Do you think Budd can pull off the upset and defeat Cyborg?

The post Julia Budd Planning On Making Statement Against Cris Cyborg appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Cris Cyborg’s Bellator MMA debut will, in fact, be for a title. ESPN has confirmed an initial report by The Los Angeles Times, revealing Cyborg will be facing Bellator’s women’s featherweight champion Julia Budd from The Forum in Inglewood, California on January 25.

Bellator has not yet officially announced the matchup, but an announcement is expected to be made tonight (Sat. September 28, 2019) during the Bellator 228 card. Cyborg is considered to be one of the most dominant fighters in women’s MMA history. She has lost just once since her unsuccessful MMA debut back in 2005. That was a knockout loss to current UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 239 earlier this year.

Cyborg’s contract with the UFC expired after her UFC 240 victory over Felicia Spencer. Following the bout, UFC president Dana White confirmed that the Las Vegas-based promotion would not be resigning Cyborg, following a public falling out with White, and she was free to sign with whichever promotion she liked. This landed her in the hands of Scott Coker, her former employer during her days with Strikeforce.

Now, she’ll take on Budd, currently on an 11-fight win streak and clearly Bellator’s most dominant female fighter to date. Budd has finished three of her last four fights and has two career losses to Ronda Rousey and Nunes.

Do you think Cyborg will emerge victorious in her Bellator MMA debut?

The post Cris Cyborg To Challenge Featherweight Champ Julia Budd In Bellator Debut appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.