Cris Cyborg has a plan charted for her tenure in Bellator.
The former UFC, Strikeforce, and Invicta Champion will be making her Bellator debut on January 25, where she will go up against the Featherweight titleholder Julia Budd. MMA Junkie reported on her thoughts about the upcoming fight and what she has planned for herself in the near future with the new promotion.
Cyborg has a big dream to achieve
Right now, all Cyborg has on her mind is the fight with Budd, which by no means will be an easy one for her. Budd has remained a Champ at 145 pounds for eight years now, and Cyborg believes it will be quite a tough test.
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"I think she’s a great fighter. She’s the champion at 145 pounds and she’s been a champion a long time. She’s undefeated eight years. She’s going to be a great challenge for me … I always like to challenge myself if I have the opportunity. I think it’s a big thing to sign with Bellator."
However, once that task is over, Cyborg has something else on her mind. It has been a long-nurtured dream of hers to appear in a Grand Prix. Bellator is yet to hold a Grand Prix for women in any division, while men's Heavyweight, Welterweight and Featherweight classes have already got that chance.
Cyborg believes that with the right opportunities, Bellator President Scott Coker would certainly be interested in it.
"My focus first is Julia. If I had the opportunity, I think one dream I have is to make a grand prix. I think being in Bellator, Scott (Coker) would be open to that – making more than one fight a night... I think it’s going to be a Japan event. I mean, shoot boxing has a lot of fighters over there that do that. I think it’s going to be a dream – a dream coming true for me."
Cyborg goes up against Budd at Bellator 238 on January 25 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.