Cris Cyborg’s new Bellator contract was official as of Tuesday at 11:33 a.m. Pacific time, and the promotion already has big plans for her future.
If Bellator president Scott Coker gets his way, Cyborg’s promotional debut will be a title shot against current featherweight champ Julia Budd, who’s defended her belt three times.
“(Cyborg) definitely deserves it,” Coker told MMA Junkie.
The promoter clarified he hasn’t hammered out specific plans with Cyborg (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) or Budd (13-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), who most recently fought in July. He plans to meet with the former UFC champ this weekend when Bellator 226 takes place in San Jose, Calif.
After Cyborg’s release from the UFC, Coker’s priority is to keep her active.
“She was fighting once a year,” he said. “That’s what she’s complaining about. We can definitely put her into the cage, I want to say, two or three times a year.”
Coker added Cyborg’s contract also allows her the opportunity to box professionally, increasing her chances to earn steady paydays.
“MMA is going to be her first commitment, but if she wants to box, I’m all about it,” Coker said. “But we’re going to be a part of it. You might see her boxing on DAZN a couple times a year or once a year.”
In a video announcing her new contract, Cyborg said Bellator has “a lot of girls at 145 pounds” and added she wants to be the first female fighter to hold four different titles in the same division.
Coker said Bellator has at least four potential opponents for Cyborg. He said contract negotiations are currently underway with Cat Zingano, who was released by the UFC after a move to the featherweight division.
Cyborg’s tenure with the industry leader was fraught with conflict both behind the scenes and in public. Coker said her time with Bellator will be far more productive than her previous promotion.
“We’re going to keep her much more active, and two, they’re not in the 145-pound weight class business, and we are,” he said. “So to me, it’s something I think that we’ve been growing this weight class for the last two, three years, and Cyborg is a great addition to it.
“She will have girls in her weight class to fight, whereas in the UFC, I think it was like, let’s see who we can sign to fight her for a one-off, or make people move up to fight her from a different weight class. But the commitment was never to start a 145-pound weight class – it was always somebody just to fight her. I think that’s the difference. We’ll do this one right.”
Coker can count on Budd to step up to the plate. After stopping Olga Rubin for her third title defense this summer, she said a fight with Cyborg was her destiny.
