After a number of years of being resistant to moving down to 135lbs due to fears for her health, Cris ‘Cyborg’ has finally decided to make the cut and Invicta FC boss Shannon Knapp is confident she’ll be able to make her debut at bantamweight in the promotion this December.
“Everything seems to be on schedule,” Knapp said in a new interview with Sherdog.com. “She is pumped up and ready; she is making her way. She wants that fight with Ronda. She is putting in the hard work, the time and the effort to get that fight. I think she’s very focused on getting to where she needs to be and where she needs to go to have that matchup.”
Knapp has hinted that fans will be able to see ‘Cyborg’s’ transformation for themselves as the former Strikeforce 145lb champion prepares for her Invicta FC 10 bout on the ‘UFC Fight Pass’ service against an unnamed opponent at the tail end of the year.
“As she really starts into that hard cut of the weight, we want to document that,” Knapp said. “We want to take the fans on that journey with her and let them see. She’s a tremendous athlete. A lot of people have negative stuff to say; they kick her around [about] muscle mass and stuff like that.”
‘Cyborg’ last fought in MMA competition in July of 2013, defeating recent Bellator signing Marloes Coenen for the second time in her career at 145lbs to become Invicta FC’s featherweight champion.
Since then ‘Cyborg’s’ only fight has been a kickboxing bout against Jorina Baars, a decorated muay thai and kickboxing champion who earned a very convincing decision victory over her.
It was undoubtedly a set-back, but there’s a world of difference between kickboxing and MMA, and so ‘Cyborg’ still remains the fighter most pundits feel offers the greatest challenge to UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
UFC president Dana White hasn’t been on the ‘Cyborg’ bandwagon though, citing her past steroid issues among other reasons, but if ‘Cyborg’ can win a fight or two at 135lbs then it’d be very surprising if she’s not a UFC fighter at some stage in the coming year.
“Starting to realize I am going to need a new bikini sponsor when I make 135lbs” – Cris ‘Cyborg’
