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“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
For a few years now, MMA’s Grand Slam Champion Cris Cyborg has been targeting a matchup with Kayla Harrison. The super-fight looked like it would finally happen with the PFL’s purchase of Bellator last November. However, that took a turn for the worst.
In January, it was announced that Harrison was headed for the UFC. The two-time PFL Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist abandoned the new-and-improved PFL ship to take on a new challenge in Holly Holm at UFC 300.
Currently left without a fight, Cyborg confirms she will join Holm’s training camp at Jackson Wink MMA ahead of fighting her longtime rival.
“Yes, I already have a date to go to Albuquerque,” Cyborg said on her YouTube channel. “I’m very excited. I talked to the team, talked to Holly. You know, we’ve been studying Kayla for a little while already. I was been training for her already. I’m very excited to [train]. I’m a super fan of Holly Holm.
“I think she’s a legend. She’s big example [for] female fighters. It’s really nice to be part of her camp, and I think she’s gonna come with a great victory. It’s gonna be good.”
While this may be the first time they’ve trained, Cyborg and Holm are no strangers to each other. The pair of former UFC Champions fought for the now discontinued women’s featherweight title back in 2017.
Holm became the first fighter to go five rounds with Cyborg and ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ even won a round or two on the judges’ scorecards. But, Cyborg clearly showed she was the better fighter in her unanimous decision victory.
More than six years later, they lock horns again, but this time as teammates. We’ll see if these sparring rounds come in handy for Holly Holm in her upcoming matchup against Kayla Harrison.