Report | UFC targeting Cris Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes superfight for May PPV

Over the last few weeks, there has been ample discussion surrounding a potential superfight between UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg and UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.

UFC President Dana White has assured this is the fight he wants next for both women.

“First of all, Amanda Nunes wants to fight her. Amanda Nunes wants to fight [Cris] Cyborg,” White recently told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports. “That is the fight to make, and that is the fight I will make. Yeah, That’s the fight. That’s the fight. Amanda Nunes is a big, strong, powerful puncher. I think she matches up very well with Cyborg too, and I think that’s a fun fight. And that’s the fight to make.”

Now, it sounds like the UFC is working on a date and venue for this fight. According to a report from Combate, the promotion plans to book this fight for UFC 224 this May 26 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – the home country of both women. This fight would likely serve as the card’s headliner.

At this point, we know that Amanda Nunes and her team are all for this blockbuster battle.

“I think it’s not 100 percent, but 1,000 percent going to happen,” Nunes coach Conan Silveira said of the fight. “I think it’s something everybody wants to see, even the ones that think they’re going to lose something. I just think it’s a champions fight. I think they need to have that fight. It’s a big push for MMA in general, females and males. People want to see it. I think they have the best opportunity to leave their marks on history.”

Team Cyborg, however, is less keen on this fight, expressing desire for a legitimate featherweight title challenger, rather than another beefed-up bantamweight. Cyborg has even hinted that she will attempt to move to Bellator if she doesn’t get her way.

“The belt, 145 pounds, one year they have the belt,” Cyborg said on the MMA hour. “But you don’t see any girls fighting at 145 pounds in the division. Just to see girls fight for the belt, 145. They know I want to do this for me, they say ‘we don’t have the girls.’ They have girls. Bellator is signing girls 145 pounds every week.

Every week girls are going to sign with Bellator. Bellator make my division very strong. Going to be big division, my division, in Bellator. This make me sad because I’m in the UFC, but I don’t have all the girls to fight. I can do superfight, but my goal is to make the division grow. I have three fights left, and then I’m going to be where I have to be.”

Do you think a fight between Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes is the fight to make?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/18/2018.