Former UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion Cyborg last competed in the co-main event of UFC 240, defeating Felicia Spencer by unanimous decision.
It now appears that UFC 240 is the final time that Cyborg will compete in the UFC, as UFC President Dana White said the promotion is getting out of the “Cyborg business.”
“All this other (expletive) that she’s putting out there – again, to avoid fighting Amanda Nunes,” White said in an interview with Laura Sanko (via Nolan King of MMA Junkie). “Message received. I get it. I’m going to release her from her contract. I will not match any offers. She is free and clear to go to Bellator or any of these other organizations and fight these easy fights that she wants. Done. Done deal. I will literally today have my lawyer draft a letter to her team that she is free and clear to go where ever she wants. We’re out of the Cyborg business.”
A riff has existed between the UFC/White and Cyborg for quite awhile now, with the latest issues being that White claims that Cyborg doesn’t want to face UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion Amanda Nunes for a second time.
White cites past issues with former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and current UFC Lightweight Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones as people he was able to do business with while having issues with each other.
“I don’t know what it is, but bad strategy,” White said. “I don’t hate Cyborg. I’m not trying to destroy Cyborg. All this craziness that she’s talking – do you know how many fighters I’ve dealt with over the years. People I really didn’t like. Like Tito (Ortiz). Tito doesn’t like me, and I don’t like Tito. And we haven’t and we didn’t, but we still got fights done. We still did business. Look at the Jon Jones stuff that has happened and many, many other things that have happened with different fighters. But we get through it. We figure it out. We get through it and we move on. But this is a completely different animal than anything I’ve ever dealt with before."
One would think that once Cyborg is officially a free agent, a plethora of MMA promotions would be making offers to have her fight for them.
