A champion versus champion superfight between Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Amanda Nunes is set to take place at UFC 232 on Dec. 29.
Cyborg is the current UFC women’s featherweight champ, while Nunes is the women’s bantamweight titleholder. The bout will be contested at featherweight, meaning Cyborg’s 145-pound title will be on the line and not Nunes’ 135-pound belt.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the news to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto Wednesday night and Cyborg later confirmed it herself on social media.
Cyborg (20-1 with one no-contest) is considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in women’s MMA and has been for quite some time. The 33-year-old knockout artist hasn’t lost since her professional debut in 2005 and is 5-0 in the UFC since making her promotional debut in 2016.
The dominant Brazilian began her UFC tenure with back-to-back technical knockout wins over Leslie Smith and Lina Lansberg, bouts that took place at 140-pound catchweights since the UFC did not have a women’s 145-pound division at the time. Cyborg beat Tonya Evinger at UFC 214 to win the vacant belt after the UFC eventually introduced the women’s featherweight title. She then successfully defended it against former bantamweight champion Holly Holm this past December and against Yana Kunitskaya in March.
Nunes (16-4) has been the 135-pound champion since defeating Miesha Tate in July 2016. The 30-year-old also holds notable victories over former UFC champs Ronda Rousey and Germaine de Randamie, Bellator champ Julia Budd, plus she has two wins over Valentina Shevchenko. Her most recent victory was a fifth-round TKO over Raquel Pennington at UFC 224 in May.
Nunes can become the third simultaneous two-weight champion in UFC history with a win, joining Daniel Cormier and Conor McGregor.
This all-Brazilian battle could end up as the main event but that has yet to be confirmed. UFC 232 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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