Cyborg v. Evinger – UFC Women’s Featherweight Division (UFC.com)

It was only a few months ago when the UFC Women’s Featherweight division was created. An opportunity made for Cris Cyborg was given to Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie at UFC 208 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. At the event, de Randamie beat Holm in a lackluster fight that had some controversy surrounding it. I would know, I was right there. After that night, everything started to unravel when it came to the newly created division. A few months after February, Cyborg (17-1, 1 NC) will face current Invicta FC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Tonya Evinger (19-5, 1 NC) for the title. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to break the news. 

How did we get to where we are now? Brace yourselves, this is quite the story. 

It all started when de Randamie stated she would need hand surgery after the fight. That was the first sign that she would be avoiding Cyborg. After Cyborg was suspended and then reinstated, it was assumed the fight would actually happen. However, de Randamie refused to fight Cyborg, so the UFC had to take action. They stripped her of the belt and made a new co-main event for UFC 214. Cyborg was going to face Megan Anderson, a bout that everyone was actually excited for. This could have been the fight to make things right. 

Unfortunately, earlier this week Anderson had to back out of the fight due to personal reasons. The current Invicta FC Featherweight Champion’s heartfelt statement on Twitter would not give a lot of information, just that she needed some time away. We here at Double G Sports wish her the best in whatever she may be going through. Seeing her coming back to fight for the title could be exciting, if there is a division to go back to.

httpss://twitter.com/MeganA_mma/status/879881052105342976

After Anderson left the title picture, the UFC had to find someone else to take on Cyborg. Hopefully, Evinger is the answer to all of their prayers. Evinger is considered one of the best female fighters in the world. Her last loss was in 2011 against Sara McMann. Since then, she has won 10 fights. The only blemish on her record was a No Contest to Yana Kunitskaya in 2016.

Evinger’s record speaks for itself. Therefore, she may very well be the perfect opponent for Cyborg. With time until the event, the UFC most hope for no more controversial distractions. After all, this event will feature Jon Jones.

The UFC Women’s Featherweight division is in a very fragile state right now. One can only hope these two women put on one heck of a show to put the division back on track. If not, it will be all for naught.