Cris Cyborg has a lot of opportunities ahead after inking a new multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.
Following a tumultuous relationship with the UFC, including a very public war of words with president Dana White, the former featherweight champion fought out her last contract and opted into free agency.
It wasn’t long before Cyborg was fielding offers. But she ultimately decided to re-team with Bellator and president Scott Coker, who’d been her promoter while she was competing under the Strikeforce banner.
If there’s an added benefit to working with Bellator over the UFC, Cyborg now has the option to cross over into other combat sports endeavors, including her dream to fight in a high profile boxing match.
Not only that, the ex-UFC and Strikeforce champ also could take a potential turn to professional wrestling. She’d already engaged in social media banter with several stars from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) over the past few years.
Additionally, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) kicks off a new television deal with Turner Sports next week, featuring a two-hour show debuting on TNT. The upstart promotion includes a thriving women’s division.
While she’s not yet ready to make the jump, Cyborg is definitely interested in the chance to work with WWE or AEW if the right opportunity comes along.
“I love both AEW and WWE and the fans of professional wrestling are always stopping me in the street asking me when I am going to have a wrestling match,” Cyborg said when speaking to MMA Fighting. “If the opportunity presents itself, and the deal makes sense, I would love to challenge myself with pro wrestling.”
The same goes for a potential boxing match. Cyborg teased for years that she’d love the chance to challenge herself against the best in the world in the squared circle.
That remains a possibility, but for now Cyborg is solely focused on her new career with Bellator MMA, where she hopes to become champion in the near future.
“My focus right now is on becoming the only champion in MMA to win all four of the major world titles in the same weight class,” she said.
No date has been announced for Cyborg’s debut. But she hopes to make her Bellator debut in either late 2019 or early 2020 following a win over Felicia Spencer in July in her final fight with the UFC.