Scott Coker on Cris Cyborg’s Bellator status: “We expect to bring her back here at some point this year”

Bellator President Scott Coker has given an update on Cris Cyborg’s future with the promotion.

Cris Cyborg is the reigning Bellator Women’s Featherweight Champion, but she hasn’t been seen in pro MMA action since April 2022. While she’s recognized as a Bellator titleholder, Cyborg is a free agent. She has been inside the boxing ring during her free agency, but hasn’t committed to an MMA promotion.

Coker spoke to reporters during the Bellator 293 post-fight press conference and he shared a status update on Cyborg’s future with Bellator (via MMAJunkie).

“I’m not sure what Cat heard because I didn’t talk to her directly, but I can tell you this: From the company standpoint, this was always a three-round elimination fight for the No. 1 contender spot. Cyborg is still the current champion. We still have her under contract right now. We have her under a rights provision. We are negotiating with her, and we expect to bring her back here at some point this year. To me, that now is going to be a great fight. Hopefully we’ll put this together with Cris in the next couple weeks, and her and Cat, we could work on a big fight for the two of them to fight for Cris’ belt. I don’t know where this got lost, but, from our perspective, it’s always been a three-round elimination fight.”

Recently, top-ranked Bellator women’s featherweight Cat Zingano expressed confusion over Cyborg’s status with the company.

“She’s not even with the promotion, so I don’t know how you duck someone,” Zingano said. “She tells me to sign a contract, but she has two contracts to sign to even get back in the promotion. I feel like she’s kind of a crazy lady yelling from the street corner right now, just trying to get anyone to talk to her, anyone to pay attention to her. She’s always complaining. She’s always got something negative to say.”