With just a few hours remaining of her birthday, Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino stepped into the Invicta FC cage on Thursday night and needed a mere 45 seconds to extend her decade-long streak of dominance.
Cyborg won 15 consecutive bouts dating back to her only career loss, which took place in her professional debut in 2005. The only other blemish on her record is an overturned win against Hiroko Yamanaka after the California State Athletic Commission suspended the then-Strikeforce champion following a positive drug test for stanozolol. She has compiled four consecutive wins since then, all under the Invicta FC banner.
A potential title fight against UFC champ Ronda Rousey remains a big motivation for Cyborg, yet she remains uncertain about whether she could potentially make the bantamweight limit.
“For this fight, I made 145 pounds easier than before. I feel great,” Cyborg told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani. “I can talk with my fans [afterwards]. George Lockhart works so good with me. I trust his work and maybe we’ll make 140 pounds next, but we don’t discuss this. I try.”
Asked whether she was required to make the bantamweight limit in Invicta before transitioning to the UFC, Cyborg confirmed that she would need to prove that she could make the weight limit beforehand.
“I’d have to make 135 pounds in Invicta FC first.”
Cyborg hopes her rivalry against Rousey does not mimic the trajectory of the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight, which only occurred five years after it was initially planned. To ensure that wouldn’t be the case, Cyborg revealed that she plans to retire in three years time to move on with her life.
“I know everybody wants to watch this fight. Maybe it will be the same as Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, where we wait for five years. But after three years, I’m done. In three years, I want to get married and have babies.”
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