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Cris Cyborg had an eventful run in the UFC, but it was too much stress for the Brazilian. She is now much happier to be fighting at Bellator and she is not keeping that a secret.
In a chat with MMA Junkie, the veteran fighter opened up about retirement, her relationship with UFC, and the possibility of a rematch with Amanda Nunes.
Cris Cyborg: I'm happy and stress-free in Bellator
The former Featherweight Champion revealed that in UFC, she had a good but stressful time, both inside and out of the Octagon. It made her think of early retirement. But signing with Bellator turned things around completely.
"In the UFC, I had a nice time but hard times, too, making me think, ‘Maybe I’m going to retire. Maybe I’m going to take a break.’ Because there was a lot of stress outside the cage, not just inside. And I said, ‘I really want to be happy. I love my job.’ And since signing with Bellator, it’s made me more motivated, made me dream again, and I’m happy to work with them."
In Bellator she is happy just training and doing her best, Cyborg said, which was not the case with UFC. In fact, she had planned to join Bellator much earlier when she was not offered enough fights in Invicta FC, where she was a Champion as well. But then she went ahead with UFC even though the promotion did not have her division back then.
On her UFC debut, Cyborg stopped Leslie Smith in a 140-pound Catchweight bout. But she had to take extreme measures to meet weight and it took a toll on her health. That is largely the reason why she could not compete in the inaugural Women's Featherweight Championship bout at UFC 208, which was fought between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie.
Cyborg later claimed a vacated belt defeating Tonya Evinger at UFC 214.
Cyborg on retirement and Nunes rematch
Cyborg and UFC parted ways once her contract was over in 2019, and as a result, she never got a chance to avenge her 2018 loss to the current Champion Amanda Nunes. It was the first blip in her illustrated, undefeated career of 13 years. She was knocked out by 'The Lioness' 51 seconds into the fight and lost her belt to Nunes in the process.
Cyborg obviously wanted a rematch of the fight but was not given the opportunity by UFC. But she believes if it is meant to be, it will happen in the future.
"When you talk to any fighter, of course they want the rematch. My first loss I never had an opportunity for a rematch. It was my first fight of my career in MMA. I asked for a rematch, but they wouldn’t give it to me. I know at some point, if it’s in God’s plans, I’m going to get the rematch. Later, soon, I don’t know, but I just have to continue focusing, work hard, and if the fight happens, that be cool."
Talking about retirement, Cyborg admitted that plans of retirement are not in the offing anymore.
"After this deal that I did, I’m really happy to be working with Scott (Coker, Bellator CEO) and now I’m motivated. I don’t see when I want to retire. I really feel great and that’s it. I feel great about fighting and I want to do some good fights for my fans, so let’s see."
