History of UFC's champion vs. champion superfights

#4 Cris Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes – UFC 232 – 12/29/2018

The UFC's latest superfight saw Amanda Nunes destroy Cris Cyborg

What led to the fight?

Like the fight between Miocic and Cormier five months prior, the UFC’s latest champion vs. champion affair largely came about due to a dearth of challengers for either fighter.

Featherweight champion Cris Cyborg had won the UFC title in July 2017 and had defended it twice, but realistically she’d been running the division with an iron fist for over a decade, defeating all the best contenders in an admittedly shallow talent pool.

Amanda Nunes meanwhile had won the Bantamweight title in July 2016 and had made three defences of her title, but despite her success, she was still struggling to gain ground as a star attraction for the UFC. This booking appeared to be an attempt to help her in that area, but it also looked like a very tricky fight for her given Cyborg’s apparent size and power advantage.

What happened?

One of the most shocking results in UFC history, essentially. Rather than use the patient, technical striking game she’d used to beat Holly Holm, Cyborg resurrected her earlier berserker style and came out swinging for the fences. It turned out to be a huge mistake.

Nunes didn’t appear to be giving up any size despite moving up by 10lbs, and more to the point she appeared to be the far quicker and more accurate striker. She stunned Cyborg with an overhand right in the first exchange of the fight, and then didn’t let up, dropping her and then knocking her unconscious to end the fight in under a minute.

Given Cyborg hadn’t lost a fight since her professional debut in 2005 – and had rarely looked in trouble, let alone been hurt in this manner in any of her other outings – this was a huge result for Nunes, who was given a monstrous ovation by the crowd, finally becoming the superstar she’d always threatened to be.

What went down in the aftermath?

Given the fight took place only a matter of days ago, it’s a little tricky to tell right now. At the very least, the win should improve Nunes’ standing as a drawing card for the UFC; the pay-per-view is estimated to have done well, meaning millions likely saw the big victory for ‘The Lioness’. The fact that the crowd completely fell in love with her should do her a lot of good.

Dana White has already stated that he now feels that Nunes is the best female fighter in MMA history, and with wins over Cyborg, Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko and Miesha Tate it’d be hard to argue with that assessment.

Cyborg has spoken on social media about an immediate rematch, but White has also played that down, and given the former champion’s UFC contract expires in March, it wouldn’t be surprising if the knockout loss is the last time we see her inside the Octagon.

Regardless of what happens in the future, Nunes’ accomplishment will go down in history, as she is now the third fighter in UFC history – along with McGregor and Cormier – to hold titles in two different weight classes simultaneously.