UFC champion Cris Cyborg plans to adopt child this year

The Cyborg family is about to become a bit bigger, as Cristiane Justino gets close to fulfilling a seven-year promise.

UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg has a big year ahead of her inside the cage, as she discusses a potential superfight with current bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes, and her life outside the Octagon is close to changing forever.

Asked about her career plans for the next few months, the UFC star revealed to MMA Fighting that she is close to adopting an 12-year-old Brazilian girl.

”I’m going to Europe now for seminars, visit hospitals, churches and social projects,” Cyborg said. “After that, I will be in process of adopting my niece. Many blessing happening.”

Cyborg won’t reveal the girl’s name and doesn’t want any pictures posted to protect the child.

She refers to the young girl as her “niece,” but didn’t want to clarify if she really is her niece of if it’s just an affectionate way to refer to each other — kids in Brazil often refer to adults as “tio” and “tia” (“uncle” and “aunt”, in Portuguese) even if they are not part of the same family.

The 32-year-old MMA star, who became a U.S. citizen in Dec. 2016, has taken care of this girl for years, and promised to take her to the United States to live with her one day.

”It’s a relationship between her and I, a promise I’ve made seven years ago,” Cyborg said. “We have a mother and daughter relationship. We were always together. When I moved to fight in the U.S. it was hard for both of us, and I promised that I would organize my life and bring her. And the time has come to fulfill my promise.”

Cyborg’s next step in MMA is currently being discussed by her team, as she could face Nunes at UFC 226 on July 7. Cyborg hopes that the adoption process gets finalized in the first half of 2018 “so that way I will be 100 percent focused on my next fight.”