[MMA NEWS ARCHIVES]
On this day one year ago, Bellator President Scott Coker expressed his desire to see his pick for the WMMA GOAT, Cris Cyborg, face Amanda Nunes in a rematch of their 2019 bout. The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News Archives.
On This Day One Year Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 28, 2020, 2:47 PM]
Bellator President Scott Coker would love for Cris Cyborg to have a rematch against Amanda Nunes to prove who is the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time.
Tonight, “Iron” Mike Tyson will be “competing” for the first time in over 15 years when he takes part in an exhibition bout against Roy Jones. Jr. And if you were to ask Bellator President Scott Coker, the “Female version of Mike Tyson” Cris Cyborg just competed last month at Bellator 249 and earned her third consecutive win and second straight finish. Scott Coker believes that Cyborg’s longevity of dominance puts her #1 on the WMMA all-time list and would love to see a particular rematch that would help validate his opinion.
“There is no denying that Cyborg is the best fighter of all time,” Coker told Combate. “She was undefeated for 13 years, who else did that? A defeat cannot define her legacy, and I, as the guy who started the first female division in MMA history, have to say this: Cyborg is the best and is still fighting at a high level, demolishing opponents in the same way that (she) demolished at the time of Strikeforce.
“Cyborg’s speed and accuracy are much better, seeing the combinations she uses is phenomenal. She is the female version of Mike Tyson and nothing is more fair than having the rematch with the only fighter who knocked her out.”
It is doubtful that a rematch between Amanda Nunes and Cyborg will happen for many reasons. For one thing, if the UFC was unable to make the rematch while the two were still in the same promotion, that should give an idea of a cross-promotional bout being made between the two. For what it’s worth, though, one-half of the promotions would happily sign off on it.
“If the UFC ever wants to do it, we’re in,” Coker said. “But my opinion is that it will never happen because they have a lot to lose. The only way for this rematch to happen is if Amanda Nunes ever becomes a free agent and Cyborg still wants this fight.
“I don’t know how many fights Amanda still has in the contract, but if she is going to depend on the UFC to release, I find it difficult. It’s sad, because this is the struggle that people want to see. If it were up to me, I would do anything to happen, but that’s not the case. I already know the answer that would come from the UFC.”
With all the loopholes and barriers between a Nunes/Cyborg rematch, the public is going to have to accept the answer provided to them on December 29, 2019, which both Nunes and the UFC believe to be a pretty definitive one.
Are you still interested in seeing a rematch between Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg?
