![]() “I don’t know a whole lot about her,” said Cyborg, who was born Cristiane Venancio Justino. Wickstrum’s last fight took place on April 29, stopping Sudana Moore in the third round.Ĭyborg hopes to make a statement at the expense of Wickstrum. ![]() ![]() The 36-year-old Wickstrum, who resides in Redding, California, holds a 2-0, 1 KO record. ![]() Cyborg dropped Gabrielle Holloway once en route to a one-sided decision victory. I was able to spar, which helped reinforce what I learned.”Ĭyborg has one boxing fight under her belt, which took place in December 2022 on the undercard of the Terence Crawford-David Avanesyan fight. They can set up jabs, or I could throw hard punches to the head and body. I learned a lot, especially with setting up punches. We worked to improve on fighting from distance, defense, and my footwork. “He didn’t want to change me and my fighting style. This was after his son David fought, so he dedicated his time to me. “It was an amazing experience working with Jose Benavidez. “I was able to put in almost eight weeks of training for this fight,” Cyborg told The Ring on Wednesday night. Cyborg was able to work on all facets of boxing, benefiting from the mitt work with the elder Benavidez. The 38-year-old took some time off after the win over Zingano, but she has now joined forces with trainer Jose Benavidez, Sr., the father and trainer of unbeaten super middleweight contender David Benavidez. PFL founder Donn Davis, in an appearance Wednesday on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani, cited “injuries, schedules, conflicts and opinions” for why they’re not fighting, all while touting PFL featherweight champ Larissa Pacheco as willing to fight either of them at any time.Cyborg (1-0), who is originally from Curitiba, Brazil and now resides in Huntington Beach, California, last fought on October 7 in a mixed martial arts fight, stopping Cat Zingano in the first round on a Bellator 300 card in nearby San Diego. Cyborg said she accepted but a contract never arrived. Speculation is swirling over an MMA showdown with PFL star Kayla Harrison, especially after PFL recently bought Bellator.Ĭyborg says PFL CEO Peter Murray contacted her team about fighting Harrison on a massive PFL vs. Technical,” Cyborg said.Īll the talk, however, is about that next opponent in that other sport. Cyborg isn’t taking the Redding super welterweight lightly. Wickstrum, 36, is 2-0 as a pro boxer with one knockout. “In MMA, you can have a little bit of a break like, ‘OK, I’m gonna kick, I’m gonna do a push kick and then I’m gonna hunt for a takedown.’ In boxing, you’re like, well, you punch or you defend or you move around. Friday’s bout, which will be contested at 154 pounds, is scheduled for six rounds. “In MMA, you set up the punches to say like, ‘OK, I gonna go for a takedown.’ But in boxing, the different set-up is now, ‘OK, now I’m gonna take this one because I’m gonna give another one.’”Īnd that patience becomes more magnified and scrutinized as Cyborg, who won a boxing exhibition and then her pro boxing debut – both via unanimous decision – in 2022, goes back to the world of two-minute rounds. In boxing, it’s heart,” the hard-throwing Cyborg said in a recent interview. In MMA, I’m getting patient but the reality is, in boxing, it’s not all about punches. To the combat sports legend, the biggest challenge, as she steps back between the ropes Friday night against undefeated Kelsey Wickstrum on Friday night in the WFC 163 main event at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, is what she has also tried to implement in her MMA career of late. And at 38, Cyborg is still in phenomenal condition. The Bellator MMA featherweight champion has practiced jiu-jitsu and wrestling for several years, neither of which help her in the boxing ring.Īnd sure, a fight is a fight, but the timing and pace of the sweet science vary from mixed martial arts, as well as the cardio. Several issues present themselves to Cris Cyborg as she alternates between her MMA and boxing careers.
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