Watch: Highlights of Cris Cyborg's punishing, dominant boxing debut against 39-fight veteran Simone Silva
Cris Cyborg is widely recognized as one of the greatest female mixed martial artists of all-time. Prior to her UFC 232 loss to Amanda Nunes, Cyborg hadn't lost a fight in over thirteen years.
With an MMA record of 26-2-1, Cyborg recently decided to try her hand at boxing and defeated Simone Silva by unanimous decision.
Cris Cyborg wins a unanimous decision in her boxing debut!! https://t.co/NqWhtt9UOn
Cyborg entered her boxing debut as one of the most dangerous women on the planet due to an illustrious mixed martial arts career. Her opponent, Simone Silva, entered with a 17-22 record, coming off of nine consecutive losses. While the scores weren't announced, Cyborg got the best of her opponent, dominating her for most of the eight two-minute rounds.
The performance put forth by Cyborg leaves many wondering if she will continue to participate in boxing matches. While her first opponent was nowhere near the top, Cyborg has previously angled for a matchup against the Undisputed Lightweight Champion Katie Taylor.
In an interview with No Smoke Boxing, Cyborg commented on a potential bout with Taylor:
"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 compared to me in boxing. 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."
It remains to be seen if Taylor will accept Cyborg's challenge. No matter what, the only grand slam champion in mixed martial arts history will likely face a tougher opponent in her second boxing match.
Watch highlights of Cris Cyborg's boxing debut below:
Could Cris Cyborg return to the UFC?
Although Cris Cyborg left the UFC on bad terms, many speculations have been made about her potential return. Cyborg recently revealed that better pay for herself and other fighters could motivate her to make a return.
Cris Cyborg has conditions for a UFC return 🤑
Full interview: bit.ly/3S1irTP https://t.co/HVLXoSOiYY
While the UFC is unlikely to meet Cris Cyborg's conditions, the fighter has called for a rematch against Amanda Nunes. Following Nunes' UFC 277 victory over Julianna Pena to reclaim her double champ status, Cyborg took to Twitter to openly ask for a rematch.
We doing rematches now?! #CyborgVsNunes2
In 2018, Nunes handed Cyborg her first and only loss since her first professional fight in 2005. Cyborg unceremoniously left the UFC after one more fight, while Nunes went on to establish herself as arguably the greatest women's mixed martial artist of all-time.