Last week, the UFC finally announced it’s main event for UFC 219 Card in December.
Cris “Cyborg” Justino, the woman who many believe to be the pound for pound best women’s MMA fighter on the planet, will face off against Holly Holm, most famous for her stunning head-kick KO over Ronda Rousey. On the line will be the women’s Featherweight title.
This announcement comes as a bit of a surprise, as recently, Holm’s camp said a deal could not be reached for the fight, and Holm’s agent Lenny Fresquez went so far as to call the matchup “dead.” But apparently, all sides came to an agreement on Thursday.
Cris, age 32, (18-1, with 1 No Contest) won the vacant title back in July when she defeated Tonya Evinger via third-round TKO at UFC 214. She is a Strikeforce and Invicta FC champion, and boasts unbeaten streak that stretches back to 2005, including wins over Gina Carano, Marloes Coenen, and Leslie Smith.
For her part, Holm (11-3), snapped a three-fight losing streak back in June with a stunning head-kick knockout of former title challenger Bethe Correia. The 36-year-old striker also holds UFC wins over Marion Reneau and Raquel Pennington, the latter of whom was slated to face Amanda Nunes for the women’s 135-pound title, before she was unfortunately sidelined by injuries from a freak ATV accident.
Holm’s only other attempt at the women’s Featherweight title was a loss to former champion Germaine de Randamie at UFC 208, which came by very controversial decision. De Randamie was stripped afterwards for inactivity.
Justino and Holm coud be two of the most popular female fighters currently in the UFC. And this fight has excellent potential. Cyborg is a notoriously aggressive brawler and Holly is a technical counter striker.
UFC 219 is scheduled to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. As of now, the full fight card stands:
Cris Cyborg vs. Holly Holm
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Edson Barboza
Jimmie Rivera vs. TBA
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Carla Esparza
Carlos Condit vs. Neil Magny
Gokhan Saki vs. Khalil Rountree
Matheus Nicolau vs. Louis Smolka
Myles Jury vs. Rick Glenn
Kamaru Usman vs. Emil Meek
Marc Diakiese vs. Dan Hooker
For more news and updates follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.