The biggest female star in Bellator MMA is going nowhere.
Bellator officials confirmed that the promotion has signed women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg to a new, exclusive, multi-fight contract.
The 37-year-old, who has captured major titles in Strikeforce, UFC and Bellator during her stellar mixed martial arts career, has also branched out into professional boxing in recent months. But her first passion remains MMA, and the Brazilian will return to the Bellator cage later this year looking to extend her undefeated record with the promotion.
Cyborg is 5-0 under the Bellator banner, with four finishes among them, and the multi-time world champion said she was pleased to put pen to paper on a new deal with the promotion.
“After receiving multiple offers from several promotions I’m very happy that I was able to come to terms with Bellator and remain the face of their women’s featherweight division,” she said.
“Scott Coker is a promoter that I’ve worked with and respected for many years. He’s done so much to further women’s MMA and give us a platform to showcase our skills.
“When making this decision, it was important to me that I was signing with the organization that I felt had the biggest names and the top talent at 145 pounds for me to challenge myself against. There is no question that all the top female featherweights are signed with Bellator, and I can’t wait to get back in there and defend my belt.”
Bellator president Scott Coker was understandably pleased to have secured the services of one of his promotion’s biggest stars.
“It’s not every day you have the opportunity to re-sign the greatest women’s mixed martial artist to ever compete in the sport, but that’s exactly what we have done with Cris Cyborg,” he said.
“There is no female athlete who can match what Cris has done inside or out of the cage, and my favorite part about Cris is her continued willingness to take on all comers.
“So, if you’re a free agent looking to compete in the best women’s featherweight division in all of MMA, come test yourself against Bellator’s Cris Cyborg.”
Cyborg’s next test inside the Bellator cage is likely to come against a former UFC bantamweight title challenger.
Both Cat Zingano and Sara McMann picked up important victories in their recent bouts, and either could provide the next challenger to Cyborg’s 145-pound title.