Breaking: Cris Cyborg's next boxing bout confirmed for December against Gabrielle Holloway at 154 pounds
Cris Cyborg's next boxing bout is scheduled to take place in December against fellow Bellator MMA fighter Gabrielle Holloway. As reported by Ariel Helwani, Cyborg and Holloway will face off in a four-round 154-pound professional boxing bout.
Cyborg's most recent MMA bout witnessed her beat Arlene Blencowe via unanimous decision to defend her Bellator women's featherweight title in April of this year. Meanwhile, Holloway's last MMA bout was a unanimous decision loss against Cat Zingano back in September 2020.
The Cyborg-Holloway matchup will be featured on the upcoming boxing card headlined by the Terence Crawford vs. David Avanesyan fight. The event will take place at the CHI Heath Center in Nebraska, U.S. on December 10.
Reigning Bellator women's featherweight champion Cris Cyborg took to her official Twitter account to address her return to the boxing ring. The former Invicta FC, Strikeforce, and UFC women's featherweight champion put forth a tweet:
"Cyborg Returns 12|10|22 @BLKPRIMEBOXING"
Cyborg Returns 🥊 12|10|22 @BLKPRIMEBOXING twitter.com/arielhelwani/s… https://t.co/4YU65qAjbg
The 37-year-old combat sports legend was expected to make her professional boxing debut against Simone Silva, a former national boxing champion from Brazil. Cyborg's pro debut was set to come to fruition in her native Brazil.
However, a boxing organization from the country refused to sanction the Cyborg-Silva matchup as a pro boxing bout due to Silva's recent knockout loss.
Resultantly, the fight went ahead as an amateur boxing bout on September 25, 2022. Cyborg dominated the fight inside the squared circle and won via unanimous decision. Needless to say, many believe that the veteran fighter could continue competing in boxing as well, apart from her MMA career.
Cris Cyborg impressed against Simone Silva and eyeing potential Katie Taylor fight
Cris Cyborg put on a pugilistic masterclass in her boxing matchup against Simone Silva. While critics pointed out that Silva isn't exactly a top-tier boxer, Cyborg was nonetheless praised for her boxing prowess.
Moreover, many fans have since called for her to face better opposition in the boxing dominion.
On that note, Cris Cyborg spoke to No Smoke Boxing earlier this year and called for a fight against women's boxing icon and lightweight champion Katie Taylor. Discussing the possible matchup, Cyborg said:
"I have a little bit of a size advantage on her but she has hundreds of amateur fights and over 20 professional fights worth of ring experience. And so I think it’s only fair she does what Floyd Mayweather was willing to do against Conor McGregor and give me a bit of size to make the matchup interesting for the fans."
Watch highlights from the Cyborg-Silva matchup below: