Cris Cyborg's rival reacts as the former UFC champ signs new multi-fight deal with Bellator

Bellator made it official today as they announced that they have re-signed Cris Cyborg to a multi-fight deal, which caught the attention from a fighter that could have been her next rival.

Two-time PFL tournament winnner Kayla Harrison reacted to the news that the reigning Bellator women's featherweight champion re-signed with the promotion rather than compete elsewhere. She took to Twitter to share a brief reaction noting that she was surprised with the news.

"Shocker"

Harrison and Cyborg have been linked to a potential bout in the past as Bellator were interested in signing the former Olympic gold medliast judoka to make the bout a reality. But, the PFL matched the deal and Harrison instead returned to the promotion and competed in the 2022 women's lightweight tournament, where she lost to Larissa Pacheco in the finals.

Fans reacted and for the most part, took the Bellator champion's side by bringing up her status with the PFL. Others remained hopeful that a bout between the two could materialize in the future, writing:

"I was honestly hoping a fight with you two would happen." [@FatazticFox - Twitter]

"She wasn’t the one who recently lost. If you want those fights you know where to find them." [@MMAgamerr - Twitter]

"You lost to a pfl fighter relax can crusher" [@BennyDubs69]

It will be interesting to see whether Harrison will continue to pursue a fight with Cyborg after she fights out her PFL contract.

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Who can challenge Cris Cyborg for her Bellator women's featherweight championship?

Cris Cyborg's tenure with Bellator will continue as she re-signed a multi-fight contract to remain with the promotion.

There will be no shortage of challenger for her women's featherweight championship. No.1 ranked women's featherweight Cat Zingano appears to be the next title challenger, which has been a fight that the promotion has wanted to book since Zingano joined the promotion.

Another potential challenger could be promotional newcomer Sara McMann, who earned a unanimous decision over Arlene Blencowe in her Bellator debut. The former UFC title challenger is on a two-fight winning streak and looked great in her featherweight debut at Bellator 294.