Last night during UFC Brasilia in Brazil, Cris Cyborg (16-1) ends up getting a TKO against Lina "The Elbow Queen" Lansberg (6-1) during round 2 with 2:29 on the clock.
This would count as Cyborg's 2nd time fighting inside the UFC Octagon since her debut back in May against Leslie "The Peacemaker" Smith (7-6-1).
Both fights she has fought in have been catchweight bouts at 140lbs, which counts as a super fight because there is no official women's featherweight division in the UFC.
The real question is, should there be? Right now we have a women's strawweight division at 115lbs and a women's bantamweight division at 135lbs inside the UFC. When you think about other federations like Invicta FC or Bellator MMA the weight classes are different and they both indeed have a featherweight division for women.
With Invicta FC, Cris Cyborg holds the featherweight title belt at 145lbs, but the weight cut for her to get down 5lbs really isn't as easy as it sounds. Some people say it's a little unhealthy however, Cyborg is smart in the things that she does and constantly gets checked out by doctors to make sure everything going on with her is healthy.
More so because at this point she is going to have to burn muscle since there really isn't any fat on her body.
Even though Cris has expressed she is still interested in doing super fights because that is what the fans want is rather adamant. She wants to fight the BEST top 10 girls at 140lbs which makes sense because she is SO dominant. Meanwhile, just imagine if Cyborg can comfortably fight at her natural weight at 145lbs in the UFC...
*PONDERS*
On top of everything, Cyborg has kept her fight streak going since 2005 and has yet to lose a single bout since. The amount of passion she has brought into this sport is something unheard of because of how much she has done and grown in the world of MMA. On that note, I personally feel it is well-deserving for UFC to open a weight- class for her.
The MAIN argument right now is there aren't enough female fighters at 145lbs that can fit the bill.. but I completely disagree. I think MMA is oozing with an amazing talent for women of that size and it is very important for the UFC to grow the women's division. always, Always, ALWAYS.
I mean just think about it, not that long ago Dana White stated he would NEVER have women fight in the UFC; it will just never happen. Then looking at the talent of "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey (12-1), that changed the mind of White and she became the reigning Champion for AWHILE and held on tight to that belt.
Now since her loss in November 2015 against Holly "The Preachers Daughter" Holm (10-2) the belt has changed hands numerous times inside the Octagon since then.
I believe this would completely change the game if this division was open and soooooo so much talent at that weight class can be recruited into the UFC. Would something like this happen overnight? No. There is a possibility for Crus to remain to do super fights for a hot second and then go back to defend her belt inside the Invicta FC cage.
This is all a process that could elevate women fighters in general and actually have a way to fight within the Superbowl of combat sports and actually make some good money while doing it too.
It's a broken record with how many times Cyborg says that she wants Rousey at 140lbs.. (PLEASE MAKE THAT HAPPEN UFC) but then there are some more fighters in the UFC that are eyeing her as well. Some to mention like Bethe "Pitbull" Correia (10-2), who interviewed with MMAFighting.com and stated that she wanted to fight Cyborg:
"Even though I don't like to fight a fellow Brazilian, I'd be proud to fight Cris Cyborg."
Then you have Invicta FC's Cindy "Battlecat" Dandois (7-2) who is VERY interested and is currently training in Thailand:
Given all of this is important to always look into the future within this sport to see how the women's divisions can always improve no matter what.
I am really hoping that with some time passed that things will start looking up and the UFC will allow more options for women as they do the men in their divisions.