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It seems the news of Kayla Harrison leaving the PFL to sign with the UFC has caused quite an impact in the women’s MMA world. Not is the Olympian gold medalist now scheduled to take on former bantamweight champion Holly Holm at UFC 300, but that has caused a couple of other top athletes to make some callouts, too.
Cris Cyborg now wants Amanda Nunes in the UFC
Firstly, it was former UFC and Bellator champion Cris Cyborg, who has been campaigning for a fight with Harrison for years in the PFL. Now that her target is set to take on Holm, the Brazilian has shifted her sights to a different opponent: former bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, who has been teasing a return after her retirement in 2023.
On her official Twitter profile, Cyborg reacted to the news of a potential Nunes return and made herself available for a rematch five years after they first met, in December 2018.
But Larissa Pacheco still eyes Cyborg
Meanwhile, current Professional Fighters League lightweight and featherweight champion Larissa Pacheco shared her opinion on the matter on her official Twitter profile. While Cris Cyborg has been campaigning for a fight with Harrison for years, the PFL champ has been doing the same, trying to score a superfight with Cyborg before she retires.
Now that Harrison is out of the picture, Pacheco once again tried to make her case online.
Although Cris Cyborg has quite adamant about making her last MMA fight against Harrison and is now trying to score a match with Amanda Nunes, she did leave the door open for a potential match with Pacheco. In a previous conversation with Combate, the former UFC and Bellator champ did mention that if she couldn’t have the Harrison match, she would take on Pacheco.
“I’ve already told my team I intend to do one more MMA fight and retire. If the PFL can’t make the Kayla fight happen, then I’d like them to match me up with you for that fight. I still believe everyone would to see me knock out Kayla.”
Cyborg has not lost since the Amanda Nunes fight
Most recently, Cris Cyborg (27-2-1 NC) defeated Kelsey Wickstrum via KO in a boxing match just last week. In MMA, the 38-year-old rides a seven-fight win streak, with wins over notable names such as Cat Zingano, Felicia Spencer and Leslie Smith, among others. The Brazilian’s last loss still dates back to the TKO defeat to Amanda Nunes, back in December 2018.
Meanwhile, Kayla Harrison is expected to take on Holly Holm at UFC 300, on April 13, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight between the champion Zhang Weili and challenger Xiaonan Yan.