UFC’s Cris Cyborg Relies On Courage To Protect Undefeated Record

BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazilian MMA legend Cris Cyborg admits her path toward a combat sports career started inauspiciously, with a simple invitation.

Already viewed as an athlete with incomparable skills, she also displayed a trait that made her a natural in mixed martial arts.

“I was a very tough teenager. And it’s funny, because I had never thought of becoming a fighter, but now I’m sure I was born to be a fighter,” Cyborg recalled. “I was 19 years old and I was playing a handball exhibition match in Curitiba when I was seen and told I could make a good fighter.

“I always enjoyed challenges, and I put a lot of faith and determination in order to accomplish them.”

A few years and a lot of training later, Cyborg holds a 16-1 professional record (1-0 UFC), is the current Invicta FC featherweight champion, and has emerged as arguably the best female fighter of her time.

Her first UFC bout in May, a spectacular debut that saw her knock out Leslie Smith in just over a minute, was a showcase bout before more than 45,000 in Curitiba, Brazil. Saturday, she returns to the Octagon to face Sweden’s Lina Lansberg in UFC Fight Night’s main event in Brasilia.