Cris Cyborg expresses interest in moving up to 155-pounds to face Kayla Harrison

By Drake Riggs - January 6, 2021

Cris Cyborg is currently reigning supreme as Bellator’s featherweight queen while Kayla Harrison runs rampant at lightweight. Could the two ever meet in the cage?

Cris Cyborg

If you ask either, the two will tell you that they both have an interest in the challenge that the other presents. Further confirming that notion as recently as this New Year’s day on Harrison’s end, Cyborg did the same on Tuesday.

“I saw she made the weight but I didn’t watch the fight,” Cyborg told James Lynch on The Catch-Up. “A couple fights I’ve seen her. I believe she’s fighting girls under or below her skill. The girls aren’t on her level. But she’s doing great, this is a strategy [by] her manager.

“I believe this year she’s gonna fight for PFL, she’s gonna be in a tournament at 155 [pounds]. And if she becomes the champion of this tournament, for sure I would like to make a match with her that all the fans would like to watch. I would like to go to 155 before I retire. I want to help build the division and if she is young, let’s see if she would like to do a match, one real match for her.”

Throughout the entirety of her still young eight-fight career, two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison has fought almost exclusively in the PFL. That was until 2020 when the promotion ceased operations due to the worldwide circumstances becoming too problematic.

The PFL aims to resume its tournaments in April but in the meantime, Harrison stayed busy with just a single fight in 2020 after having three in 2018 and five in 2019. Her lone fight came in her Invicta FC as well as 145-pound featherweight debut in November. The American Top Team disciple would continue her unbeaten streak by bloodying Courtney King en route to a dominant second-round TKO via ground and pound.

As for Cris Cyborg, she most recently made a successful first title defense in Bellator by earning a second-round rear-naked choke over Arlene Blencowe in October.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Bellator Cris 'Cyborg' Justino Kayla Harrison