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What's the story?
Ahead of the momentous UFC 232 event set to take place on December 29th, 2018, co-main fight card competitors, Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes seem to have finally settled their arguments, once in for all. The pair will be squaring off against each other in a women's featherweight title fight, and witness to this epic encounter will be a sold out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In case you didn't know..
Former Strikeforce and Invicta FC women's featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg, has had an unbeaten run in the UFC, thus far. Her UFC debut came against Leslie Smith, in a catchweight bout at UFC 198, where Cyborg went on to win the contest via technical knockout. Following this win for Cyborg, the Brazilian successfully amassed victories over and against the likes of Lina Lansberg, Tonya Evinger, Holly Holm, and Yana Kunitskaya.
Amanda Nunes' entry into the UFC dates back to August 3rd, 2013, when she faced Sheila Gaff, at UFC163, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The former scored a first-round technical knockout victory against Gaff, announcing her arrival into the biggest mixed martial arts promotions company, till date. Nunes got her first taste of gold when she claimed the UFC's women's bantamweight championship belt after submitting Miesha Tate to a rear-naked choke, at UFC 200. 'The Lioness' has since then defended her bantamweight title on three separate occasions against quality opponents in Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko, and Raquel Pennington.
The heart of the matter
The UFC held a media conference call this past Thursday, where Cris Cyborg once again accused Amanda Nunes of ducking her on situations in the past. Both fighters seem visibly respectful of each other's accomplishments within the Octagon, making a fight between the two, almost inevitable. The fact that this fight has taken more time to set a schedule for has, however, been on the mind of Cris Cyborg, whose allegations tweaked the following reply from Nunes:
“That is not my problem! You should have talked to UFC about that. You know what I mean? That is not my problem. They offer me the fight, I tell them, I have the time for, I am available for this time, and they take it. That is not my problem. You should have talked to UFC about that.”
“You a powerful fighter. You a strong fighter. Do you think I come from my last fight about 135, I make weight 135. Do you think I’m going to step up to you if I’m not 100 percent? Let’s be honest. Let’s be honest right here.”
On hearing this explanation from Nunes, Cyborg seemed to agree with her counterpart at the end of the conference, by saying:
“Great. I want you to be 100 percent and want it to be a great fight.”
What's next?
The UFC plans on ending the year 2018, arguably with four of the biggest names in the sport, for the co-main and main event, respectively. Come December 29th, fight fans around the world can be sure to expect fireworks during the course of this enthralling contest.
Who do you think will walk out of UFC 232 as the UFC's first women's double-division champion? Leave your predictions in the comments section below!
