5 Things you probably did not know about Cris Cyborg
Cris Cyborg holds a special place in the hearts of Mixed Martial Arts fans. One of the most dominant fighters in the history of Women’s MMA, the Brazilian always manages to amaze the fans when she steps into the cage to fight.
UFC 222 will be no different. After the original main event of the pay-per-view featuring Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar was scrapped due to an injury suffered by Holloway, Cyborg stepped in to save the show on short notice.
How many champions in the UFC would take up a pay-per-view main event on one month’s notice?
Cyborg does and that is why she holds a special place in the MMA history books. But then again, how good is your knowledge about the reigning UFC Women’s Featherweight champion?
In this list, we put that knowledge into test and take a look at some lesser-known facts about the champion.
#5 She was a national level handball player
Cyborg’s skill inside the cage is world famous but not many people know that she was a national level Handball player for Brazil. In fact, Cyborg never wanted to be a fighter. She started playing handball at the age of 12 and continued playing for seven more years.
Then at the age of 19, one of the fighters from Chute Boxe saw Cyborg play and pursued her into trying Muay-Thai. One thing led to another and she was soon involved heavily in combat sports. Though she started late unlike most of the other world champions, Cyborg managed to grab the opportunities that came her way and climbed up the ladder fast.