4 talking points from Bellator 226: Bader vs. Kongo

#4 Bellator gets into the Cyborg business

Scott Coker is firmly back in the Cris Cyborg business

While the news that Bellator had signed former UFC Women’s Featherweight champ Cris Cyborg was announced earlier in the week, the promotion made a big deal of the signing last night, bringing the Brazilian to the cage for a promo to hype up her future debut. According to Scott Coker, the contract given to Cyborg is “the most lucrative in female MMA history”.

Personally I have a hard time believing that, given Ronda Rousey made millions due to her pay-per-view cut when she was at the top of the UFC, but assuming Bellator are paying Cyborg generously, I have to question whether it’ll be worth it in the long run.

Bellator’s female 145lbs division is more established than the UFC’s by virtue of it having been around for a longer period of time, but in reality it’s just as thin when it comes to the levels of talent available, purely because there just aren’t that many great female fighters who are that big. Champion Julia Budd is a good fighter, but does anyone really think she can beat Cyborg?

Sure, Cyborg might’ve left the UFC with a win over Felicia Spencer, but the overriding image of her UFC run is most likely her violent KO loss at the hands of Amanda Nunes – a loss that erased her aura of invincibility for good.

Is there really any money now in Cyborg squashing overmatched opponents in one-sided fashion? Scott Coker evidently believes there is, but personally I’m not so sure – meaning this deal could end up blowing up in Bellator’s face somewhere down the line.

#Bellator226 off to some exciting fights! Great seeing @CungLe185 @jonfitchdotnet check out all the action on @daznglobal @DAZN_USA @FoxSportsBrasil pic.twitter.com/0cxd9Hk0Md

— @CrisCyborg #Bellator226 (@criscyborg) September 8, 2019