Former Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg has been absent from the Octagon for nearly a year now. In 2016, Cyborg made her UFC debut against Leslie Smith in a highly anticipated catchweight fight. Cyborg won the fight in just under 90 seconds, defeating Smith via TKO. In her next fight, Cyborg entered into the Octagon again for a catchweight fight as she fought Swedish striker Lina Lansberg. Despite enduring a brutal weight cut, Cyborg picked up a 2nd round TKO win, extending her UFC record to 2-0.
Several months following the win over Lansberg, Cyborg was notified of a potential USADA anti-doping violation as a result of a substance taken to help her recover from the brutal weight cut leading up to the Lansberg fight. While Cyborg was briefly suspended, she was then granted a TUE in February, and her suspension was subsequently lifted.
Since then, there has been much confusion regarding Cyborg’s next fight. While all indications were that Cyborg would be fighting UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine De Randamie, a fight has never been made official. With no certainty regarding when she will step into the Octagon again, Cyborg spoke to Brendan Schaub to discuss the situation:
“I want to fight [as] soon as possible after everything cleared with USADA, and July will be 10 months I never been inside the cage. I really ask for fights. I ask for fights in Brazil, I ask for fights in Singapore, I ask for Texas, and this is no happen. They avoid make fight for me, and I never turn down fights. People follow my career know I never turn down, I’m ready, I’m training always to be ready. I agree to fight Holly Holm in Brazil, and no saying anything she turned down fight because she no accept fight [with] me. I accept fight with GDR, before she fought Holly Holm, but ask for one month time for me [to] get healthy [and] fight her. I don’t know what’s going on, I really want to fight soon.”
Only time will tell when Cyborg steps into the Octagon next.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/20/2017.