Women’s MMA icon Cris Cyborg added another highlight-reel knockout to her legendary resume.
The reigning Bellator women’s featherweight champion squared off with Kelsey Wickstrom at a World Fighting Championship event on Friday night at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif. The evening’s headliner ended just as quickly as it started with Cyborg dropping Wickstrum with a brutal overhand right just past the one-minute mark of the opening round.
Wickstrum attempted to answer the referee’s count, but the bout was called off once she face-planted back onto the canvas.
Cris Cyborg’s one hit KNOCKOUT!
#criscyborg #boxing #KO pic.twitter.com/GSZxwZcX4p
— Spectation Sports (@SpectationNet) January 20, 2024
Cyborg has won three straight boxing matches since making her sweet science debut in 2022. Friday’s shellacking of Kelsey Wickstrom represented her first finish in the sport. She had previously earned decision victories over Simone da Silva and Gabrielle Holloway, while also scoring a successful Bellator title defense via a first-round TKO against Cat Zingano at Bellator 300 in October.
What’s Next For Cris Cyborg?
With the Professional Fighters League acquiring Bellator MMA last year, fight fans are eagerly awaiting news of a long-teased clash between Cyborg and two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison. With PFL founder Donn Davis announcing a PFL champions vs. Bellator champions mega-event in Saudi Arabia, many assumed that Cyborg vs. Harrison would be part of the festivities. As it turns out, neither fighter will be part of the card with Cyborg claiming that Harrison turned down the scrap on social media.
“I am disappointed to hear that after @PeteMurrayPFL offered me the date and location for a fight against @KaylaH and after we accepted the bout that she has now declined the offer,” Cyborg wrote on X.
Davis attempted to quell some of the frustration online between fans and the fighters, telling MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani that Cyborg vs. Harrison will “most likely” go down this summer.
“We wanted it to be [on the PFL x Bellator card]…Kayla [Harrison], injury then [Cris] Cyborg didn’t want to fight [Larissa] Pacheco…Injury, schedules, conflicts, opinions, but that fight’s gonna happen. The great news, that fight’s gonna happen…Kayla wants to fight Cris, Cris wants to fight Kayla, that fight’s gonna happen. So will it be the summer? Most likely.”