Let’s Talk About Cris “Cyborg”

Let’s talk about Cris “Cyborg” and her very long career.

Cristiane Justino, “Cyborg”, is a female fighter who has had to defend herself against a lot of unkindness. Unfortunately, she was outright bullied while in the UFC. She was called ugly, compared unfavorably to “a man”, and worse. Nevertheless, she is considered one of the greatest female MMA fighters of all time. She has proven her fighting skills across multiple promotions during her career. Most recently,  showing out October 7th in Bellator 300, devastating Kat Zingano with a TKO. 

Cris “Cyborg” v Kat Zingano – image, MMA Fighting

Longevity

Cyborg has given us solid fights for the past 18 years, as long as she’s been a professional fighter. Both Cyborg and Zingano, have been competing as professional fighters since 2005 and 2007 respectively. At 38 and 41 they fought like masters of MMA, bringing excitement and skill into the octagon.  

Fighters Fight

There are plenty of fighters that want to continue to fight if they are able. None of them have to be young or beautiful to do so. Cyborg, is an athlete, not a fashion model. She only needs to model being a professional fighter, and she has been doing that with excellence for years.

MMA fans became aware of Cris when she was with Strikeforce, some more die hard fans before that. Certainly by the time she was competing in Invicta she was well known. She had a big reputation as a fierce fighter that has followed her throughout her career. With that in mind, the 5 years she was with the UFC, and the way she was treated there, never made sense.

Built for Sports

While in the UFC she only ever lost one fight, and that was to up and coming Amanda Nunes. She won her following fight against Felicia Spencer then left UFC to sign with Bellator (in 2021). She was not spoken to or about the way a successful fighter usually is. The narrative kept being about looks and nothing else or sports related. It was not pleasant or necessary commentary.

Cris “Cyborg v Holly Holmes – image, Fansided

If we think about it a moment, there are many ‘less than optimally attractive’ fighters we enjoy watching compete. Their excellent fighting skills are what is beautiful to look at. A body built for the sport being competed in is the ideal physical objective in this case. These individuals are built for sport. 

Credit Where Owed

Cris Cyborg has fought for nearly 2 decades at an elite level. She has won 27 of her 29 pro fights, 21 of those (T)KOs. To top it all off, she is the only Grand Slam Champion ever, male or female.  That means she has held the title of champion across four MMA promotions. It really doesn’t matter if anyone thinks she is “cute” or likes “that much muscle on a woman”. Cyborg is a champion in every promotion she has fought in.  

Respect.