As champion the past two years, Cris Cyborg is the bedrock of Bellator’s women’s featherweight division.
And while her next opponent isn’t official, the promotion knows the direction it wants to go. But then again, a highly coveted free agent could shake things up, too.
Cyborg (25-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) defended her title for a third time this past November with a first-round knockout of Sinead Kavanagh. She’s been expected to have former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Cat Zingano (12-2 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) as her next opponent, but that fight hasn’t been booked yet.
And at the same time, two-time PFL women’s lightweight champ Kayla Harrison (12-0) is out there in the free agent market. And while it’s been said her most likely move is to return to the PFL, she’s also been in the conversation about a move to Bellator, where she’d have to drop to 145 pounds – and could be essentially an immediate player in the title picture.
Bellator president Scott Coker said Harrison still is in the picture – even if it might be a long shot to land her.
“There wasn’t an official offer,” Coker said after Bellator 273 on Saturday in Phoenix. “We talked to her manager (Ali Abdelaziz), and we talked about what a deal would look like. I think those conversations are ongoing. I don’t think anything is set. I don’t think she’s signed anything, and we’ll continue talking to Ali tonight or next week. She’s got a lot of offers right now, and we’ll see what happens.”
As for Cyborg and Zingano, Coker said earlier this month that’s the next title fight in the division, and Cyborg said after her win over Kavanagh that a fight with Zingano made sense.
After all, Cyborg reasoned, Zingano beat Amanda Nunes in 2014 before Nunes went on to become a two-division UFC champion – which happened when she knocked out Cyborg.
Coker reiterated that’s the projected next matchup, but that things need to be worked out behind-the-scenes.
“I would love for them to fight,” Coker said. “I think timing is going to be an issue on that fight – when Cat is ready to fight her. We would like that fight to happen as soon as possible. That is our plan, but we have to have both fighters agree to that plan. We’re talking to the managers and Cat’s manager and find out when, one, she’ll be ready to fight, and will she be ready to fight Cyborg?”