Cris Cyborg continued her path of destruction through Bellator’s women’s featherweight division with a one-punch knockout of Conor McGregor’s training partner Sinead Kavanagh in Florida late on Friday.
The Brazilian knockout artist was heavily favored heading into the Bellator 271 headliner against Kavanagh, the tough-nosed Irishwoman who emerged from the same amateur boxing team as Katie Taylor and recent Olympic gold medalist Kellie Harrington, but even a fighter of her pedigree on the feet appeared outmatched by the vicious KO queen as she ended the fight just 90 seconds into the first round after connecting flush with a concussive overhand right.
Cyborg threw caution to the win early and engaged in the slugfest that Kavanagh called for – a move which might have backfired had a slick left-hook landed by Kavanagh had just a little bit more mustard on it, but the fight quickly fell into the blueprint of so many others when Cyborg’s right hand connected and crumpled the SBG Ireland fighter to the canvas.
That makes it 20 KO's for the champ. #Bellator271
@criscyborg pic.twitter.com/o1mTp3eYbx
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) November 13, 2021
.@CrisCyborg leaves no doubt as to her championship status.
She is now 4️⃣ & 0️⃣ inside the #Bellator cage.#Bellator271 pic.twitter.com/TcwYl57kPC
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) November 13, 2021
The win was the 20th knockout victory of Cyborg’s impressive career and came after she admitted that she disregarded her coach’s gameplan and opted to slug it out with Kavanagh. While that particular approach led to her only defeat in the past 15 years against Amanda Nunes, it paid off this time.
“I didn’t do anything my team planned, so sorry,” Cyborg said afterwards. “But I feel great about it.”
The Brazilian then suggested that former UFC star Cat Zingano could be up next – but also noted the attendance of PFL champ Kayla Harrison at ringside, a fighter who is currently among the most high-profile free agents in mixed martial arts.
“Kayla, thank you for coming to the fights,” Cyborg said. “I really appreciate you here.
“If you want to fight me one day, it’s going to be a great fight, but [Harrison manager] Ali Abdelaziz will have to talk to all the promotions to make this happen.”
❤️ thank you @sineadkavanagh0 for sharing the @BellatorMMA cage with me! You’ve earned my respect as one of the toughest women I’ve ever met! pic.twitter.com/xgnvzuLcB2
— @CrisCyborg.com on Showtime #Bellator271 (@criscyborg) November 13, 2021
Respect to a Proper gun fight! Congrats on getting to the title Sinead, a prestigious goal achieved! We dust it off and we go again! Congrats cyborg on defending. It will be a hard task for someone to beat her in this form. https://t.co/o0tEfSfYkS
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 13, 2021
Whoever ends up being next for Cyborg, be it Zingano, Harrison or another, it is clear that the legendary female fighter hasn’t yet come close to finding her equal in Bellator after moving to the promotion following a five-fight stint in the UFC.
Nunes, the unquestioned queen of female mixed martial arts, has appeared to be the only fighter capable of causing her significant trouble. With those two fighters separated by the divide between Bellator and the UFC, it remains to be seen if Bellator’s matchmaking can provide her with the type of test to challenge her.
Reacting to the fight, Kavanagh’s training partner Conor McGregor paid tribute to his friend and congratulated Cyborg on what he called a “proper gunfight”.
“Respect to a Proper gun fight!” he wrote online. “Congrats on getting to the title Sinead, a prestigious goal achieved! We dust it off and we go again! Congrats cyborg on defending. It will be a hard task for someone to beat her in this form.”
Cyborg paid tribute to her opponent’s toughness on Twitter, saying that she has “earned my respect as one of the toughest women I’ve ever met” – while elsewhere on social media, the reaction was effusive in its praise for Cyborg.
“Would you look at that Cyborg – looks unstoppable,” said one.
“Was there really ever any doubt?” added another.
“She got a little wild but damn, another one bites the dust,” wrote a a third.
