Cris "Cyborg" Justino is considered one of the best MMA fighters of all time, and her accomplishments back up her place among the greatest fighters we've ever seen. She went undefeated for 13 years and has won championships in every major organization she's been a part of. With such a dominant career, it'd be hard to put together just five top moments, but here's our attempt at five of the most memorable.
Only hardcore MMA fans knew about Cris "Cyborg" Justino before the Brazilian arrived in North America to fight Shayna Baszler in 2008, and the bookmakers had Cris as a big underdog. Baszler had more experience and had a track record of forcing her opponents to submit, and most fans expected the same to happen at Elite XC: Unfinished Business.
Shayna Baszler started the fight with the intent to lock Cris Cyborg in a submission hold, but Cyborg was able to fend of Baszler without being in much danger of being caught. The second round saw much more action, with Cris Cyborg taking the offense to Shayna Baszler, if fact, Cyborg landed a flurry of strikes that opened up Baszler, causing Cris Cyborg to believe she'd won due to the wound. She hopped up on the cage to celebrate, unaware the official had yet to stop the fight. Once she realized the fight was not over, it didn't take long for Cris Cyborg to finish off Baszler as she was able to land a series of punches up against the fence causing the official to stop the fight.
On May 14, 2016, Cris Cyborg made her UFC debut against veteran MMA fighter Leslie Smith. There were many in the industry who never thought that Cyborg would enter the UFC due to tensions with owner Dana White, but Cyborg decided to join the promotion and made a huge impact in her first fight.
Fighting at the 140 pound weight class rather than her preferred 145, Cyborg showed no issues with the change in class and took the fight to Smith from the start of the bout. 1:21 into the round, Cris Cyborg unleashed several right and left hooks on Smith causing the official to stop the fight and declare Cyborg victorious in her UFC debut.
There have been some impressive undefeated streaks in MMA history, but Cris Cyborg's 20th straight win solidified her as one of the best MMA fighters of all time.
There were some great fights over the course of her win streak, but we'd like to highlight number 20 against Yana Kunitskaya. While this fight lasted only one round, it had some back-and-forth moments early forcing Cyborg to fight through some tough moments. Eventually, Cris Cyborg was able to overcome and defeat Yana Kunitskaya by TKO after a barrage of punches left Kunitskaya dazed and unable to defend herself late in the opening round.
It was a long and convoluted road to Cyborg's first chance at a UFC title fight, but the moment came at UFC 214 against Tonya Evinger.
This bout was not a fight between champion and challenger, as neither fighter came into the bout with the UFC Featherweight Title belt. Germaine de Randamie had been the former title holder, but was stripped of her title for refusing to give Cris Cyborg a title bout. This led to Cyborg fighting Evinger to claim the vacant title.
While Evinger made an attempt to put up a good fight, she was no match for the striking power of Cris Cyborg and Cyborg took the bout with a knee strike to Tonya Evinger's head against the side of the cage forcing a stop to the fight and giving Cris "Cyborg" Justino UFC gold.
Cris "Cyborg" Justino was not only a UFC champion, but she also held titles in three other major MMA promotions.
At time of writing, Cris Cyborg is the reigning Bellator Women's Featherweight champion, and before her time in UFC she collected titles in both Invictus and Strikeforce, giving her championships in four different MMA promotions. This is a feat that is accomplished by very few MMA fighters, and cements Cris Justino's legacy as one of the top fighters in MMA history.
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