Former Strikeforce champion Cristiane Justino is now also a former Invicta champion.
After defeating Marloes Coenen at Invicta FC 6, Cris Cyborg became the featherweight champion for the organization in 2013 and hasn’t looked back since. Since joining the UFC roster last year, some questions remained regarding a possible return to Invicta, even thought that possibility looked less and less likely. Now we have confirmation that she indeed has relinquished her title, and hopes to set up a fight with current UFC featherweight champion, Dutch powerhouse Germaine de Randamie.
Initially reported to Ariel Helwani via Twitter, the news was confirmed by Invicta president Shannon Knapp to Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole.
“Cris is a tremendous athlete and has been a great champion,” Knapp told Yahoo Sports. “We are sad to see her go, but we wish her much success. She will always have a special place here at Invicta.”
According to Iole, Cyborg is aiming to fight de Randamie in July for UFC 214 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. de Randamie has not since made any comment regarding this matter.
Germaine de Randamie won the inaugural title in a controversial bout against former bantamweight champion Holly Holm in February, but may require surgery for her hand before her next fight. She remains at 7-3 in her MMA record with a three-fight win streak.
As for the hierarchy of Invicta’s featherweight division, Megan Anderson has now been elevated from interim champion to full champion as she continues on an impressive run for the organization. She’s currently 4-1 for Invicta with all of those wins being KO/TKOs, and 8-2 overall.
Justino’s last fight for Invicta was a brutal finish of Daria Ibragimova in January of 2016 at Invicta FC 15. That performance was followed up by wins over Leslie Smith and Lina Lansberg in the UFC. Her overall record remains at an impressive 17-1 with 1 no-contest, the infamous win over Hiroko Yamanaka which was overturned after testing positive for stanozolol in 2011.
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