Cris Cyborg not ready to commit to retirement: "You never know"
Tomorrow, Cris Cyborg defends her PFL women's featherweight title against Ketlen Vieira in what is expected to be her last fight, but it seems that Cyborg isn't ready to retire just yet.
Talk of a possible Cris Cyborg retirement has dominated all news surrounding PFL Tampa, which she headlines tomorrow on Aug. 22. She will defend her PFL women's featherweight title in a bout that has been billed as her very last. Yet, contrary to that, Cyborg herself has recently revealed that she isn't fully closing the door on fighting again.
Cris Cyborg isn't calling it a career just yet
Tomorrow, Cris Cyborg faces ex-UFC women's bantamweight standout Ketlen Vieira in the main event of PFL Tampa. The bout marks both her first-ever title defense of the PFL women's featherweight belt and her possible retirement fight. Though despite being 41 years old and with nothing left to prove, Cyborg has revealed, in an interview with MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz, that she might not retire at all.
"So, when you ask me, it could be my last fight. You never know. It could be my last fight. Maybe the fight ends, that's it. When you no longer have that fire inside you, then you stop. You have to stop at the right time. I always say this could be my last fight, or it might not be my last fight. But I do know that this is the last fight on my PFL contract. After this fight, I want to sit down with my team and figure out what I want to do. I have some other dreams outside of fighting."
If it does end up being her last fight, Cyborg will leave WMMA as one of its most decorated fighters. She has been a world champion in numerous organizations, having reigned as the Strikeforce women's featherweight champion, Invicta FC featherweight champion, UFC women's featherweight champion, Bellator women's featherweight champion, and PFL women's featherweight champion. Beyond MMA, she is also a world champion boxer, holding the WIBA light middleweight title, which she won against Pauline Cardona via second-round TKO.
If anything can compel her to fight again after her PFL Tampa bout with Vieira, it's either a rematch with the great Amanda Nunes or a matchup with career rival Ronda Rousey. Back when she was still fighting in the UFC, Cyborg faced Nunes at UFC 232. It was a defense of her UFC women's featherweight belt, but the bout ended with a lopsided 51-second knockout loss for Cyborg, snapping her then 20-fight unbeaten streak. Meanwhile, Rousey has been one of Cyborg's targets throughout her entire career, but the two never shared the cage despite occasionally trash-talking each other.
