Bellator 238: Can Cris Cyborg return to the cage and send a message to Dana White and the UFC?
Bellator 238 is fast arriving and the event means a lot of different things to the different fighters participating. For some, the event is an opportunity to showcase themselves. For others, it is a launchpad that can put themselves in the right place for a better fight. For former UFC Champion, Cris Cyborg, the event is a fresh start and the opportunity of a lifetime.
Cris Cyborg is known as one of the most dominant women's MMA fighters in the history of the sport. During her time in the UFC, she was able to build on that reputation, by taking on, and destroying, almost all her challengers. Of her 7 fights, she was able to win all but one. The one fight that she lost was the one against Amanda Nunes, and it was also the start of an ugly public dispute between herself and Dana White.
Eventually, the two fell apart. After the one fight left on her contract against Felicia Spencer, Cyborg did not renew her contract and became one of the most coveted free agents in MMA.
She did not have to wait too long before she was snapped up. Scott Coker came calling and signed her up for Bellator MMA.
Now, Cris Cyborg has become a part of the Bellator family and at Bellator 238, she is about to make her debut in the promotion. Her first fight is quite the event as she will have the opportunity to fight against Julia Budd, the current Women's Featherweight Champion.
It is a fight that no one is taking lightly as, if Cyborg is able to win this, she will automatically become a Champion in four different MMA fight promotions, having collected titles during her time in the UFC, Invicta, and Strikeforce.
Check out the top 5 knockouts of Cris Cyborg
A win in this fight will also mean that Cyborg would have sent out a message to not only the Women's division in Bellator, but also to her former boss — Dana White — and the UFC.
While White has been open in his contempt regarding her abilities and has mentioned how she did not want a rematch against a capable opponent like Amanda Nunes, a title win in her very first fight in Bellator will be an achievement that anyone would be hard-pressed to ignore.
Bellator 238 will be held on 25th January 2020 and the fight between Julia Budd and Cris Cyborg will be the main event of the show.