Ali Abdelaziz takes aim at Cris Cyborg for re-signing with Bellator: “I knew all along”

Thursday afternoon, Bellator MMA officials announced the re-signing of women’s featherweight champion, Cris “Cyborg” Justino, to a multi-fight deal.

Justino had previously been linked to a potential super-fight with former multiple-time PFL champion, Kayla Harrison. Now, with Cyborg returning to the Bellator cage to defend her throne, a Harrison fight seems too far-fetched.

According to Dominance MMA’s Ali Abdelaziz, he said that he saw Cyborg’s Bellator re-signing from a mile away. Abdelaziz is Harrison’s manager, and represents a whole host of world-class MMA talent. He is also one of the sport’s most polarizing figures.

All along I knew Cyborg was not gonna sign with any promotions @KaylaH was fighting

— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) May 4, 2023

“All along, I knew Cyborg was not gonna sign with any promotions Kayla [Harrison] was fighting [in],”Abdelaziz tweeted in a reaction to the news.

Abdelaziz went a step further, claiming that Cris Cyborg never wanted to fight Kayla Harrison to begin with.

Cyborg said she looks forward to competing under the Bellator banner again, giving props to president Scott Coker for believing in her skills and helping establish the framework for women’s featherweight.

“After receiving multiple offers from several promotions, I’m very happy that I was able to come to terms with Bellator and remain the face of their women’s featherweight division,” Cris Cyborg said in a release from the promotion. “Scott Coker is a promoter that I’ve worked with and respected for many years. He’s done so much to further women’s MMA and give us a platform to showcase our skills. When making this decision, it was important to me that I was signing with the organization that I felt had the biggest names and the top talent at 145 pounds for me to challenge myself against. There is no question that all the top female featherweights are signed with Bellator and I can’t wait to get back in there and defend my belt.”

Cris Cyborg via Bellator MMA

Coker echoed Justino’s sentiment and said that re-signing the Brazilian MMA superstar was the right move for all parties involved.

“It’s not every day you have the opportunity to re-sign the greatest women’s mixed martial artist to ever compete in the sport, but that’s exactly what we have done with Cris Cyborg,” Coker said. “There is no female athlete who can match what Cris has done inside or out of the cage and my favorite part about Cris is her continued willingness to take on all comers. So, if you’re a free agent looking to compete in the best women’s featherweight division in all of MMA, come test yourself against Bellator’s Cris Cyborg.”

At press time, Justino does not have a new fight announcement, but several challengers will await her in the coming weeks and months, including Cat Zingano and Sara McMann to name a few.

Who will Cris “Cyborg” Justino fight next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, Penn Nation!