Cris Cyborg is set for her next combat sports appearance, and it won’t be in an MMA cage as she hoped.
On April 27, Cyborg (3-0) will return to the boxing ring to face Widnelly Figueroa in the main event of Green Bay Fight Night at The Watering Hole in Green Bay, Wis., according to a press release. The fight will be two four-minute rounds in 10-ounce gloves, contested at 154 pounds.
The bout promoted by Roughhouse Promotions and Salomon Becerra will be Cyborg’s second boxing fight of the year, following an 81-second finish of Kelsey Wickstrum in January. Figueroa (0-2) will return to boxing for her first fight since 2017.
“I was hopeful to be fighting (Larissa) Pachecho in June, which gave me limited dates to pursue a Boxing fight,” Cyborg said in the release. “Figueroa is a tough opponent who has been in the ring with Boxing Olympians with a lot more experience than me. I have been training hard and am hoping to continue showing the improvements I am making in my Boxing skills.
“I want to prove to the people in Boxing that my KO power in MMA can translate into KO power with the bigger gloves. I’m working on my boxing techniques so that I am going to be able to deliver the type of fight-ending finishes fans want to see. I’m looking to bring excitement to Women’s Boxing like I’ve done in WMMA.”
Cyborg, 38, is undefeated in pro boxing through three fights. She holds wins over Simone da Silva, Gabrielle Holloway, and Wickstrum. With a win over Figueroa, Cyborg will continue to seek a bout against Cecilia Braekhus, the No. 1-ranked super welterweight according to BoxRec.
Cyborg’s last appearance in MMA was a first-round TKO stoppage of Cat Zingano at Bellator 300, which notched her fifth Bellator women’s featherweight title defense. Since PFL’s acquisition of Bellator, Cyborg has been calling for a champion vs. champion bout against Larissa Pacheco, but that fight, or any other MMA bout has yet to come together.
