Tag: Leslie Smith

Cris Cyborg Stops Leslie Smith With 9 Seconds Left – Bellator 259 Highlights

Cris CyborgCris Cyborg showed a new, patient side to her MMA game. But she did what she does best in the end, finishing Leslie Smith with nine seconds left in the fight. Cyborg (24-2 MMA, 3-0 Bellator) and Smith (12-9-1 MMA, 2-3 Bellator) engaged in a five-round war for the main event of Bellator 259. The […]

Cris Cyborg

Cris Cyborg showed a new, patient side to her MMA game. But she did what she does best in the end, finishing Leslie Smith with nine seconds left in the fight.

Cyborg (24-2 MMA, 3-0 Bellator) and Smith (12-9-1 MMA, 2-3 Bellator) engaged in a five-round war for the main event of Bellator 259. The fight was in stark contrast to the first meeting between the two in Cyborg’s UFC debut in 2016 that ended in a first-round finish. And although Smith was unable to avenge the loss, she demonstrated grit throughout the rematch.  

Cyborg completely dominated the opening two rounds of the championship bout. Her striking was as powerful as ever, dropping Smith several times. However, Smith stayed composed and survived the barrage, as well as some ground and pound, to remain in the fight. 

The third round saw Smith’s best work in the entire fight. She absorbed fewer significant strikes and sustained less damage while landing some strikes of her own as well. While Smith’s performance and output were improved over the first two rounds, Cyborg maintained control and dominated most exchanges, easily winning the round.

Cyborg showed us a much more patient and tactical side to her game in the last two rounds of the fight. She picked her shots and did not allow Smith to coax her into any exchanges she didn’t want to be in. Her output was different; Cyborg was less aggressive than what we are accustomed to seeing. She also mixed in several takedowns and utilized her ground game more than ever in the past. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt, Cyborg chose to show us a bit more of the ground game that we first witnessed in her title defense over Arlene Blencowe.

It appeared that the champ would go the distance for the first time in over twelve years. However, with the fight winding down, Cyborg countered Smith with a right hook that sent her to the mat. She immediately moved in to finish the fight, and it appeared that Smith was out and then woke back up before the referee stoppage with just nine seconds left.

After the victory, Cyborg went on to call out Cat Zingano for her next title defense.

Do you want to see Cris Cyborg defend her Bellator featherweight belt against Cat Zingano next?

Cris Cyborg Predicts ‘A Lot Of Violence’ In Title Fight Against Leslie Smith

Cris Cyborg is excited to rematch Leslie Smith on Friday night in the main event of Bellator 259. After coming from the UFC, Cyborg got an immediate title shot and earned a fourth-round TKO over to Julia Budd to win the belt. She followed that up with …

Cris Cyborg is excited to rematch Leslie Smith on Friday night in the main event of Bellator 259. After coming from the UFC, Cyborg got an immediate title shot and earned a fourth-round TKO over to Julia Budd to win the belt. She followed that up with a submission win over Arlene Blencowe to defend […]

Continue Reading Cris Cyborg Predicts ‘A Lot Of Violence’ In Title Fight Against Leslie Smith at MMA News.

Cat Zingano Targeting Title Shot Against Cris Cyborg vs. Leslie Smith Winner

ZinganoCat Zinano is targeting Bellator women’s featherweight gold next. The former UFC title challenger went 2-0 with her new promotion following a first-round armbar win over Olivia Parker at Bellator 256 on Friday night. It was notably her first submission win in nearly nine years as “Alpha” was pleased to go back to her roots. […]

Zingano

Cat Zinano is targeting Bellator women’s featherweight gold next.

The former UFC title challenger went 2-0 with her new promotion following a first-round armbar win over Olivia Parker at Bellator 256 on Friday night.

It was notably her first submission win in nearly nine years as “Alpha” was pleased to go back to her roots.

“This is a very sweet win. To get a finish, I’ve always loved that thrill of the quit,” Zingano said (via MMA Junkie). “So it was really good to get a finish. It’s been a minute. So I’m really happy to have that. I feel good.”

As for what’s next?

Zingano is looking ahead to the upcoming featherweight title fight between current champion Cris Cyborg and Leslie Smith which takes place May 21 at Bellator 259. And she wants to fight the winner.

“I think I’ve done enough over time to get a shot at the winner,” Zingano said. “With this performance, who knows? I know that I’m a lot more experienced coming into this fight. … I’ve almost locked horns with all of these girls at a certain point. It’ll be beautiful that it gets to happen over here.

“All of these girls are a tough test. Really, the fighter I’m fighting out there is always me. It’s always how I’m going to show up. I have what it takes to beat all of these girls, but it comes down to preparation, it comes down to mindset, and just being my best self that night.”

Do you think a title shot is next for Zingano? If not, who should she face next?

Cris Cyborg and Leslie Smith Say They Are Both Better Than Before

Cris “Cyborg” Justino is scheduled to face Leslie Smith at Bellator 259 on May 21, and even though the two have faced off before, with Cyborg walking away the victor, both women are well aware that neither is the same fighter they were six …

Cris “Cyborg” Justino is scheduled to face Leslie Smith at Bellator 259 on May 21, and even though the two have faced off before, with Cyborg walking away the victor, both women are well aware that neither is the same fighter they were six years ago. The last time the two fought was at UFC […]