For good reason, most MMA fans are locked in the UFC 232 main event. Jon Jones is returning to the Octagon to reclaim the UFC Light Heavyweight title he never lost in competition, and he’s facing Alexander Gustafsson, the man who gave him his toughest battle.
There’s a lot there to like. In the midst of the anticipation for that potentially epic rematch, it’s easy to forget how significant Saturday’s co-main event will be. How often do we see a bout that will determine the greatest female fighter of all-time?
Cris Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes is a superfight. It’s a champion-vs-champion scrap–the first-ever in any of the UFC’s female divisions and a battle between beloved Brazilian warriors. It’s a special matchup.
Have I forgotten about Ronda Rousey? Of course not, Rousey is a Hall-of-Famer and the most important female mixed martial artist. Still, I can’t dismiss the two losses in her career–especially not the one against Nunes. The Lioness is set to face the one elite competitor of the era that Rousey didn’t fight, and it gives Nunes an opportunity to further establish her superiority.
The task at hand is monumental.
Cyborg has compiled a 20-1 record with one no contest during her 13-year career. She has run roughshod through every promotion she’s ever competed in and taken down almost every elite fighter within her weight region. Cyborg is a former Strikeforce and Invicta champion and she’s held the UFC Featherweight title since its inception in July 2017.
She has defeated the likes of Shayna Baszler, Gina Carano, Marloes Coenen (twice), Leslie Smith, Lina Lansberg, Tonya Evinger, Holly Holm, and Yana Kunitskaya. Cyborg has an 85-percent finish rate, and she’s arguably the most intimidating force in MMA.
It’s almost like competing against Mike Tyson in his prime; Cyborg’s opponents must first get past a feeling of intimidation before they can hope to compete. Nunes has made her mark on the bantamweight division with her length and extraordinary power.
Her record has a few more flaws than Cyborg’s, but at 16-4, few have had her number. The Lioness has defeated Julia Budd, Baszler, Sara McMann, Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Miesha Tate, Rousey, and Racquel Pennington. Few, if any, have a list of conquered opponents that top Nunes.
With all of their accomplishments, Cyborg and Nunes still need each other. Cyborg and Nunes suffer from a similar issue; it’s the lack of elite contenders in their divisions. With no major challenges, it’s difficult to take their legacies to the next level.
Cyborg badly wanted to face Rousey at some point in her career. In fact, the 33-year-old Brazilian has even talked about following her to the WWE. Cyborg has dominated so much during her career, but when it comes to legacy-defining wins, a victory over Rousey would have put her alone on the top of the mountain.
Nunes has that win over Rousey. She’s also beaten Tate and Shevchenko on two occasions. If Cyborg can defeat Nunes, it’s the closest she can come to defeating opponents who have moved on to their next careers or compete in a weight class too small for the featherweight champion to face in the Octagon.
A win over Nunes would complete a puzzle for Cyborg and it would give her every right to call herself the greatest female mixed martial artist ever.
Nunes has her share of big wins, but some may argue her biggest, the win over Rousey came when the former champion was already a broken fighter. Both victories over Shevchenko were razor-thin calls and neither were particularly memorable fights. As good as Nunes’ career has been, it still seems to be missing something.
She’s already done enough to be a UFC Hall of Famer, but beating Cyborg would make Nunes much more. She will have slain a beast, and she’d have accomplished the feat while moving up in weight. With that victory under her belt, who could deny Nunes the title of G.O.A.T?
