AFTER BEING CROWNED champion back in July, it has been confirmed that Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino will defend her UFC women’s featherweight belt before the year is out.
A long-rumoured bout against Holly Holm, which was held up due to a contract impasse between Cyborg and the UFC, is set to take place at UFC 219 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, 30 December.
With the UFC struggling to get its 145-pound women’s weight class up and running since it was introduced in February, the clash of Cyborg and Holm will only be the third bout to have taken place in the division. The title has been at stake in all three.
Holm lost out to Germaine de Randamie via unanimous decision in the inaugural championship bout. However, de Randamie was later stripped of the belt for her refusal to defend it against Cyborg, who was victorious via third-round TKO against Tonya Evinger in July when the vacant title was subsequently up for grabs.
A 32-year-old native of Brazil, Cyborg (18-1) was a featherweight champion for Strikeforce and Invicta before moving to the UFC in 2016 and embarking on a 3-0 run.
A former world boxing champion, Holm (11-3) signed for the UFC in 2015 and caused a major upset that November by dethroning the previously undefeated bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey by second-round knockout.
But the 36-year-old from Albuquerque — who has recently been linked to a potential boxing bout against Katie Taylor — then lost her title to Miesha Tate in the first of three consecutive losses, before rebounding with a victory over Bethe Correia earlier this year.
The UFC haven’t confirmed yet if the meeting of Cyborg and Holm will headline UFC 219. Recent speculation suggests that the organisation is working on a potential welterweight title bout between Nate Diaz and champion Tyron Woodley.
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