Cyborg became Bellator champion. Photo: Reproduction / Twitter @Bellator
A monologue. This is how the debut of Chris Cyborg at Bellator. On Saturday night (25) in Los Angeles (USA), in the early hours of Sunday morning (26) in Brazil, the former UFC champion won yet another international belt by defeating the hitherto only featherweight champion in the history of the UFC. organization julia budd.
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Cris' triumph over the Canadian came in the fourth round, via technical knockout, after a devastating sequence of blows and a kick to the liver that put Budd out of action. With the triumph, Cyborg took his professional record to 22 wins, two losses and one fight without result. Now, Cyborg holds a belt in four different organizations: Strikeforce, Invicta FC, UFC and Bellator.
After the victory, Cris recalled a striking coincidence from the fight. “I want to thank the entire 'Cyborg Nation' who came here to honor us. I lost my belt here at 'The Forum' (arena where the event took place) and here I am again, to win back a world title. I trained a lot, I prepared a lot to be here and it paid off, this victory was incredible”, said Cyborg in his interview shortly after the fight. “If I could ask (Bellator president) Scott Coker for one thing, it would be for there to be a Grand Prix so I can fight. This is a dream I have, to fight with my Chute Boxe style”, he added.
The fight
The fight started with Cyborg going forward and, quickly, champion Budd took the fight to the cage. The Brazilian, however, managed to free herself and hit the Canadian with a knee and a right hand, followed by a takedown. The fight continued at a frenetic pace and, once again, the rivals were on the gridiron, reversing positions and exchanging blows at the waist. With two minutes left in the first round, Cyborg tried a high kick, but ended up slipping and ending up on the bottom. Cristiane, however, remained very active, even in an unfavorable position, including an attempted triangle, promptly rejected by Julia. In the final stretch of the partial, Budd hit Cyborg with an illegal knee, while the Brazilian had four supports on the ground, and both were put back on their feet. The Brazilian took advantage of the stoppage and managed to knockdown with less than 30 seconds on the clock, guaranteeing a small advantage.
The second round started in a similar way to how the first ended, with Cyborg going up and touching the face of julia budd several times. With control of the center of the cage, the Brazilian kept her rival trapped in the cage, alternating moments of clinch, in which he abused knees to the waist, with explosions of attacks, especially his traditional crosses sequences. In the second half of the partial, Cyborg added a new weapon to his attacks: powerful low kicks, which aimed to gradually undermine Budd's movement. In the final seconds, Cris even avoided a takedown attempt by Budd, who was coming with a single leg, punishing her immediately until the bell rings.
At the turn of the third round, after ten minutes of a lot of action, the pace of both fighters slowed down a little. After two and a half minutes of a lot of strength on the fence, but little effectiveness, Cyborg finally managed a takedown and went on the attack. On the ground, the Brazilian took the opportunity to catch a little breath, while also attacking Budd's waistline from the one-hundred-kilo position until the end of the five minutes.
In the fourth round, Cyborg came ready to finish the deal and gave no chance to julia budd. After a series of low kicks that hurt the Canadian's leg, Cyborg threw sequence after sequence of punches and closed the score with a kick to the waist that took Budd to the ground for the last time in the fight. The central referee was forced to interfere at 1m44s, stopping the fight and making it Chris Cyborg the new Bellator featherweight champion.
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