Cris Cyborg Scores 30th Career Win Beating Ketlen Vieira by Decision
Cris Cyborg secured the 30th win of her pro MMA career when, on Saturday, August 22, she bested Ketlen Vieira by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 49-46) at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida. The victory saw Cyborg retain her PFL women’s featherweight championship.
Vieira made Cyborg work for the win. The challenger was heavier in the cage — missing weight by seven pounds — and denied Cyborg’s takedown attempt early in the opening round. Cyborg entered the middle stretch by continually focusing on takedowns and scoring points, but it came at a cost as she wore a mask of blood, damaged from Vieira’s attacks.
Cyborg threw strikes of her own, and scored takedowns, but Vieira refused to quit and took Cyborg down in the fifth. Cyborg only managed to get to her feet with 90 seconds left on the clock but, from there, controlled the action and arguably won the fifth round with her aggressive striking.
“I put the belt on the line even though she didn’t make weight because I wanted to fight for the title,”Cyborg said. “I wanted to … get my 30th victory. No woman has done that before, and I wanted to make history.”
In the build-up to the fight, PFL marketed the event as a farewell for Cyborg as it was her final fight on her PFL contract. Following her win, the 41-year-old veteran called out boxing’s unbeaten 3-time undisputed champion, Claressa Shields, as well as UFC’s bantamweight champ Kayla Harrison, although Cyborg said “I don’t know if I’m going to have a fight again.”
PFL Tampa: Cyborg vs. Vieira Full Card Results:
Main Card:
Cris Cyborg def. Ketlen Vieira via Decision (Unanimous) – 49-46, 48-47, 49-46
Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Tracy Reeder via TKO (Punches) – Round 1, 4:38
Sabrinna de Sousa def. Taila Santos via Decision (Unanimous) – 29-28, 30-27, 30-27
Luke Trainer def. Roland Dunlap via TKO (Front Kick and Punches) – Round 2, 2:52Preliminary Card:
Nkosi Ndebele def. Marcirley Alves via Decision (Unanimous) – 29-28, 30-27, 29-28
Daniel Marcos def. Magomed Magomedov via TKO (Corner Stoppage) – Round 3, 0:11
Javid Basharat def. Movsar Ibragimov via Decision (Unanimous) – 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
Dakota Bush def. Morquez Forest via Decision (Split) – 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
Natan Schulete def. Makkasarip Zaynukov via Decision (Unanimous) – 30-27, 29-28, 29-28
Gino van Steenis def. Robert Watley via Decision (Unanimous) – 30-27, 29-28, 29-28
Eoin Sheridan def. James Vake via KO (Knee) – Round 1, 4:09