#AndStill pic.twitter.com/rwGFJLdQIf— CrisCyborg.Com (@criscyborg)
May 4, 2023
Bellator MMA is holding on tight to its
dominant women’s 145 champ.
The organization announced on Thursday that it had come to terms
with champion Cristiane
Justino (26-2, 1 NC), whose contract had concluded after her
most recent defense in April 2022. After a pair of boxing matches
for the Brazilian powerhouse, “Cris Cyborg” signed a new, exclusive
deal with Bellator. The specifics have not been stated, other than
that it was a multi-fight contract.
Justino was elated in her new arrangement with the promotion,
saying in the press release, “After receiving multiple offers from
several promotions I’m very happy that I was able to come to terms
with Bellator and remain the face of their women’s featherweight
division. Scott Coker is a promoter that I’ve worked with and
respected for many years. He’s done so much to further women’s MMA
and give us a platform to showcase our skills. When making this
decision, it was important to me that I was signing with the
organization that I felt had the biggest names and the top talent
at 145 pounds for me to challenge myself against. There is no
question that all the top female featherweights are signed with
Bellator and I can’t wait to get back in there and defend my
belt.”
She initially joined the league back in 2020, making her Bellator
debut by dethroning longtime featherweight queen Julia Budd by
fourth-round knockout. Since then, “Cris Cyborg” has rattled off
four straight defenses, including three stoppages, to reach the
company record of the most championship wins (five) for any female
Bellator fighter. She remains just three finishes shy of Ilima-Lei
Macfarlane’s women’s divisional record of seven.
While “Cris Cyborg” has lobbied for a pairing with fellow 145er
Cat
Zingano, the 37-year-old first match on this new contract – and
her fifth title defense attempt – has not yet been made official.
Bellator head Scott Coker spoke of the signing but not her next
fight, stating, “It’s not every day you have the opportunity to
re-sign the greatest women’s mixed martial artist to ever compete
in the sport, but that’s exactly what we have done with Cris
Cyborg. There is no female athlete who can match what Cris has done
inside or out of the cage and my favorite part about Cris is her
continued willingness to take on all comers.”