{"id":341560,"date":"2025-12-13T00:57:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T00:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/341560\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T00:57:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T00:57:10","slug":"cris-cyborg-ready-for-australian-sara-collins-in-pfl-fight-will-retire-in-12-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/341560\/","title":{"rendered":"Cris Cyborg ready for Australian Sara Collins in PFL fight; will retire in 12 months"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brazilian MMA<\/a> legend Cris Cyborg<\/a> is wary and prepared, but knows she is ready for anything Australian wildcard Sara Collins can throw at her.<\/p>\n

The pair will meet in the ring in Lyon, France, on Sunday on a Pro Fight League card, with Cyborg looking for her 29th MMA victory, while Collins could claim the biggest scalp of her career and move to 7-0.<\/p>\n

Collins, a 35-year-old Aussie midwife, has begun to make a name for herself<\/a> after switching from judo to mixed martial arts.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Elias rocked by Tigers’ ‘biggest decision’ in club history<\/a><\/p>\n

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And she feels that background in judo gives her a shot at taking down one of the icons of the sport, despite entering as the heavy underdog. <\/p>\n

\"Sara<\/p>\n

Australian Sara Collins celebrates victory.\u00a0PFL<\/p>\n

“Judo is one of the best bases to have for MMA,” Collins told Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

“It’s the hardest to learn as an adult, and it’s hardest to defend. I’ve just got a good feeling, like in my hips, in my movement, that I don’t think she’s going to be able to stop, even if she trains with judo people. She hasn’t been doing it her whole life like I have, so I think that’s going to be my big advantage.<\/p>\n

“I’m just going to be able to feel things better and be able to do the grappling takedowns, from stand up to the ground, better.”<\/p>\n

When asked about those comments, Cyborg’s confidence in her own experience and skillset immediately shone through. <\/p>\n

Watch all the action from PFL Lyon 2025, including Cris Cyborg vs Sara Collins on December 14, live and on demand on Stan Sport<\/a><\/p>\n

“She has to say something, all the opponents have to say something,” Cyborg told Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

“I don’t worry about it. Of course, you’ve got to study your opponent and see what she does, but I’ve been training high-level judo in my team to be prepared for any situation in the fight.<\/p>\n

“I always train hard for any opponent. Obviously, I’m wary of her.”<\/p>\n

Next year will be it for the 40-year-old. After fighting Collins, she is contracted for one more fight with PFL before having the scope to finish her career on her terms.<\/p>\n

\"Bellator<\/p>\n

Bellator Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg.\u00a0MediaNews Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Cyborg has dabbled in boxing as well as MMA in the last few years and is keen to continue exploring that world next year.<\/p>\n

“Next year is going to be my last year in the sport. I always like to think about the next thing I have in front of me, and that’s Sara,” she said.<\/p>\n

“After Sara, I have one more fight on my contract with PFL, and I would like to make some boxing fights in between and have the opportunity to fight for a world title.”<\/p>\n

As for who she has in her sights after the Collins fight, Cyborg was coy, for now.<\/p>\n

“Nobody is on my list \u2026 yet. Only Sara,” she laughed.<\/p>\n

Cyborg has fought some of the biggest names in MMA history across her storied career.<\/p>\n

Boasting a 28-2 record, she lost her first-ever fight back in 2005, but has only truly been beaten once in her prime, and that was by UFC great Amanda Nunes. <\/p>\n

She has dominated the likes of Marloes Coenen, Holly Holm, Tonya Evinger, Yana Santos and Shayna Baszler.<\/p>\n

\"Cris<\/p>\n

Cris Cyborg walks out ahead of the Women’s Featherweight World Title fight.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Of course, the fight everyone hoped for against Ronda Rousey never eventuated<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cyborg is confident her legacy is secured regardless of what happens in the final year of her career. <\/p>\n

“I believe I did a lot for the sport. I always give it my best. I’m very thankful for all the opportunities I’ve had in my career, and I just have to continue doing great,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I think my legacy is already done. What I did for this sport doesn’t change based on the fight on Saturday.<\/p>\n

“I’ve already accomplished a lot of things, so I’m very thankful.<\/p>\n

“I believe every fight I fought in my career built me up into who I am today.”<\/p>\n

She refused to put a line through a return to the UFC in 2026, but for now is focused on Collins, who looms as a fascinating opponent on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brazilian MMA legend Cris Cyborg is wary and prepared, but knows she is ready for anything Australian wildcard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-341560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}