Cris Cyborg reached another milestone Saturday in a career filled with them, winning a competitive but unanimous decision over Ketlen Vieira in the PFL Tampa main event to become the first woman in MMA history to amass 30 victories.
Cyborg (30-2, 1 NC), the PFL women’s featherweight champion, got all she could handle from her Brazilian countrywoman over five tough rounds. Vieira, though widely outstruck in terms of volume (202-106), wobbled her opponent in Round 2 and bloodied her in the fourth while landing punches from the top position. But Cyborg gradually gained momentum and earned the support of all three judges (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in winning for the 10th time in a row.
The bout originally was to be for Cyborg’s 145-pound championship, but it was switched to a nontitle fight after Vieira (16-6) weighed in Friday at 152.2 pounds. However, according to the PFL, Cyborg said before the fight that she would vacate her belt if she lost.
Even in victory, this might have been Cyborg’s swan song as PFL champion. It was the final fight on her contract with the promotion. The PFL had billed it as a retirement fight, although Cyborg did not sound as if she was done competing afterward, calling out UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison and undisputed heavyweight boxing champion Claressa Shields.
“Eight years undefeated,” Cyborg said. “I’m ready for anybody, anytime, any weight.”
Cyborg, 41, formerly was a champion in Strikeforce, Invicta FC, the UFC and Bellator, making her the only fighter to win titles in five major MMA promotions.
Vieira, 34, was making her PFL debut after being a UFC bantamweight contender. She is No. 3 in the ESPN women’s 135-pound rankings. (Cyborg is unranked because ESPN does not have women’s featherweight rankings.)
The fight did not play out like a typical Cyborg fight. Rather than displaying her usual relentless aggression, which has produced 21 knockouts, she circled Vieira early on, landing single body punches and leg kicks. The focus on working the body might have been a strategy to take advantage of her foe’s weight miss, but Cyborg took a while to ramp up her attack.
Cyborg’s movement paid off in allowing her to evade much of what was thrown her way. Vieira threw 175 punches but landed only 73, whereas Cyborg threw 159 and landed 119. Cyborg had an even wider edge in kicks, landing 56 to Vieira’s six.
But the numbers did not fully tell the story of this fight. Vieira stood toe-to-toe with a legend, outmuscled her at times, gained positional control for several stretches and connected with some hard punches that snapped Cyborg’s head back and bloodied her. It was a different kind of Cyborg victory, one in which she persevered instead of dominating.
Asked afterward what is next for her, Cyborg said she is heading home to be with her daughter, who is nearing her due date for a birth that will make Cyborg a grandmother — one whose fight career keeps rolling on.
