Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Cris Cyborg
If Saturday was truly Cris Cyborg's last UFC appearance, a dominant striking effort against a gritty featherweight will end her tenure on a high note. Richard Mann examines the stats from the UFC 240 main card.
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Can Aspen Ladd take care of business against "The Iron Lady" Saturday in Sacramento? Jon Litterine breaks down four key fights and makes his picks for the rest of the card.
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More Fantasy News
Released from UFC contract
UFC President Dana White said Friday that Cyborg will be released from her UFC contract, Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Cyborg's one-sided victory over Felicia Spencer at UFC 240 was the last fight on her UFC contract, and will ultimately be her last with the company. There was originally supposed to be a three-month grace period where Cyborg would negotiate exclusively with the UFC, but White made it clear Friday that he does not intend to match any other offer that she receives, stating "We're out of the Cyborg business." Cyborg can negotiate with any promotion she chooses after those contractual three months have passed, though a rematch with Amanda Nunes down the road unfortunately no longer appears to be in the cards. This also puts the future of the UFC's women's 145-pound division in serious question, as it was a weight class essentially built to showcase Cyborg, and the promotion currently doesn't have a ton of depth there.
Cyborg's one-sided victory over Felicia Spencer at UFC 240 was the last fight on her UFC contract, and will ultimately be her last with the company. There was originally supposed to be a three-month grace period where Cyborg would negotiate exclusively with the UFC, but White made it clear Friday that he does not intend to match any other offer that she receives, stating "We're out of the Cyborg business." Cyborg can negotiate with any promotion she chooses after those contractual three months have passed, though a rematch with Amanda Nunes down the road unfortunately no longer appears to be in the cards. This also puts the future of the UFC's women's 145-pound division in serious question, as it was a weight class essentially built to showcase Cyborg, and the promotion currently doesn't have a ton of depth there.
Steamrolls to easy decision victory
Cyborg defeated Felicia Spencer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at UFC 240 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
After criticism that Cyborg may have come out a bit too reckless in her loss to Amanda Nunes, she stayed composed and technical against Spencer, mixing in her kicks and only unloading when she had her opponent backed up against the fence. She faced a bit of adversity when an elbow cut her open in Round 1 but remained focused, stuffing every takedown en route to the unanimous decision. This was the final fight on Cyborg's contract and with her and President Dana White telling different stories about what she wants next, it will be interesting to see if a Nunes rematch is in the cards. She improves to 21-2 (1NC) in professional MMA as a result of the victory.
After criticism that Cyborg may have come out a bit too reckless in her loss to Amanda Nunes, she stayed composed and technical against Spencer, mixing in her kicks and only unloading when she had her opponent backed up against the fence. She faced a bit of adversity when an elbow cut her open in Round 1 but remained focused, stuffing every takedown en route to the unanimous decision. This was the final fight on Cyborg's contract and with her and President Dana White telling different stories about what she wants next, it will be interesting to see if a Nunes rematch is in the cards. She improves to 21-2 (1NC) in professional MMA as a result of the victory.
Fight with Spencer targeted for Edmonton
Cyborg is in line to face Felicia Spencer in a featherweight matchup in the co-main event of UFC 240 in Edmonton, Brett Okamoto of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
Cyborg has been in search of a bounce-back fight since her loss to current two-division champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 232, and a fearless Spencer will step in. Spencer had a six-pack of victories in the all-female Invicta FC promotion before making her UFC debut against Megan Anderson on May 18, where she dominated en route to first-round submission. Cyborg is a much, much different story. A brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Andre Galvao, the chances of Cyborg being taken down and worked in a similar manner are slim. She's defended takedowns at a rate of 91 percent in her UFC tenure, so Spencer will likely have to resort to her striking in this one. The two women measure up roughly equally, but a kickboxing match against Cyborg has been a really bad idea for any opponent not named Amanda Nunes to date. Furthermore, this is supposedly the last fight on Cyborg's UFC contract, and while it's unclear where negotiations stand, she'll clearly want to go out on a high not if this is her last Octagon appearance.
Cyborg has been in search of a bounce-back fight since her loss to current two-division champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 232, and a fearless Spencer will step in. Spencer had a six-pack of victories in the all-female Invicta FC promotion before making her UFC debut against Megan Anderson on May 18, where she dominated en route to first-round submission. Cyborg is a much, much different story. A brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Andre Galvao, the chances of Cyborg being taken down and worked in a similar manner are slim. She's defended takedowns at a rate of 91 percent in her UFC tenure, so Spencer will likely have to resort to her striking in this one. The two women measure up roughly equally, but a kickboxing match against Cyborg has been a really bad idea for any opponent not named Amanda Nunes to date. Furthermore, this is supposedly the last fight on Cyborg's UFC contract, and while it's unclear where negotiations stand, she'll clearly want to go out on a high not if this is her last Octagon appearance.
KO'd in Round 1 at UFC 232
Cyborg was defeated by Amanda Nunes via KO (punch) at 0:51 of Round 1 at UFC 232 on Saturday in Los Angeles.
ANALYSIS
This was a wild fight. Both fighters came out swinging. Nunes was too fast for Cyborg and tagged her immediately. Cyborg was rocked. To her credit, Cyborg kept throwing, but Nunes continually landed punches and eventually put Cyborg down.
This was a wild fight. Both fighters came out swinging. Nunes was too fast for Cyborg and tagged her immediately. Cyborg was rocked. To her credit, Cyborg kept throwing, but Nunes continually landed punches and eventually put Cyborg down.
Fight versus Nunes now official
Cyborg will officially fight Amanda Nunes at UFC 232 on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas, Ariel Helwani of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
This superfight has been in the works for quite some time now, though a deal was always expected to get done. With a date now set, Cyborg, who owns a 20-1 career record, will be set to take on a very tough challenger in Nunes, who has won seven consecutive fights and is the current Bantamweight champion. Cyborg herself is a champion as well, currently sitting at the top of the Featherweight class and also widely considered to be the No. 1 female fighter in the world, so this should be a highly anticipated battle between a couple of the women's top maulers. Both fighters stand 5-foot-8, though Nunes will enter the fith with a one-inch reach advantage.
This superfight has been in the works for quite some time now, though a deal was always expected to get done. With a date now set, Cyborg, who owns a 20-1 career record, will be set to take on a very tough challenger in Nunes, who has won seven consecutive fights and is the current Bantamweight champion. Cyborg herself is a champion as well, currently sitting at the top of the Featherweight class and also widely considered to be the No. 1 female fighter in the world, so this should be a highly anticipated battle between a couple of the women's top maulers. Both fighters stand 5-foot-8, though Nunes will enter the fith with a one-inch reach advantage.