A potential bout with former PFL tournament winner Kayla Harrison could be it for Cris Cyborg.
The Brazilian has been out of the cage since a knockout win over Cat Zingano at Bellator 300 in October. That victory may go down as the final of Cris Cyborg’s women’s featherweight title reign. The following month, the Scott Coker-led promotion was bought out by the PFL. On paper, that should make a long-awaited bout with Kayla Harrison a reality.
The two have been going back and forth about a potential bout for years. In late 2021, Kayla Harrison became a free agent, and nearly signed with Bellator for the fight with Cris Cyborg. However, the PFL matched the contract offer, and the contest failed to come together. As of now, the fight is still yet to be made.
Instead, PFL executive Donn Davis has shown interest in booking Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco first. However, the Bellator women’s featherweight champion would much rather fight Kayla Harrison, as she stated to Combate. Furthermore, a potential bout with the Judoka could be the final of the Brazilian’s historic career. Although, she admitted that she had similar thoughts before her recent win over ‘Alpha Cat’.
(via Bellator MMA)
Cris Cyborg discusses booking long-awaited PFL bout against Kayla Harrison
“We’ve building up that fight for three years. We’ve been trying to make this fight with Kayla Harrison happen. Me and my team have talked and we think that should be our next fight. I’m in a moment in my career in which we’re trying to finish it in the best way possible and I see that she’s a big name. We’ve been building up that rivalry between the two of us for a while, three years. I think that’s a fight everyone would like to see.” (h/t Bloody Elbow)
She continued, “I talked to my team, we want to do big fights and I think that Kayla Harrison should be next. Cat Zingano was a great fight, I could have finished my career with that one, but I think Kayla Harrison is another great one. I could finish my career after that, too.”
While Cris Cyborg is seemingly winding down her MMA career, her boxing career is just getting going. The Brazilian fought twice in 2022, scoring unanimous decision wins. Now, the Bellator featherweight champion is slated to face the 2-0 Kelsey Wickstrum in January.
Meanwhile, Kayla Harrison is fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Aspen Ladd in November. That victory was her first in over a year, going on a hiatus following a November 2022 loss to Larissa Pacheco. Now back in action, the Judoka is hoping to book a fight with Cris Cyborg early next year.
What do you make of these comments from the Brazilian? Do you want to see Cris Cyborg vs. Kayla Harrison in the PFL cage in 2024? Who do you have in that possible matchup?
