The first champion vs champion fight has formally been booked. Amanda”The Lioness” Nunes is currently making the move upward from the bantamweight division to shoot on Cristiane”Cyborg” Justino in the featherweight division at UFC 232 on December 29 in California. Oddsmakers have Cyborg launching as a -250 favorite using all The Lioness coming back in +195 for this superfight in the women’s divisions.
The -260 lineup for Cyborg might jump at you as a deal, as in her previous five fights at the Octagon she has been an average -1619 favorite. What I find fascinating about the current odds is that Cyborg entered the fight against Holly Holm as a -275 favored and that I believe Nunes has a much better opportunity to steal the featherweight belt from Cyborg compared to Holm actually did. The two have been jousting for months and now the conversation ends when the two conflict later this year.
Nunes in Featherweight
Although Cyborg are the bigger woman from the Octagon when the two meet, Nunes had success at featherweight in her past. She cried in the featherweight division to begin her career where she published a record of 6-1. All six victories for The Lioness from the 145-pound branch came by knockout, including wins within Ediane Gomes and Julia Budd.
Nunes has her difficulties cutting the weight at 135 pounds and has seemed to be the bigger woman in all her struggles at bantamweight. The Brazilian is currently riding a seven-fight winning series and has defended her belt four times, completing her opponent three of those times, including a fifth-round TKO over Raquel Pennington in UFC 224.
How can Cyborg vs NUNES perform?
This is certain to be a standup war between both Brazilians with 17 of Cyborg’s 20 victories coming by way of T/KO and 11 of Nunes’ 16 wins coming exactly the identical way. Together with two fighters coming to battle with fictitious knockout power, it is tough to provide the edge one way or another. Cyborg is going to use her size and power to try and corner Nunes and look for the finish. The Curitiba native is methodical and aggressive, landing 7.02 strikes per minute while protecting 70 percent of attacks against. Cyborg has not suffered a loss since her first professional fight in 2005 when she was halted by a kneebar. She has won five consecutive UFC struggles including defending her belt twice.
Nunes’ road to success over Cyborg can come on the mat. The Lioness averages 1.82 takedowns per 15 minutes and it is in her best interest to steer clear of Cyborg’s power from the standup game. Two of Nunes’ four losses came by way of TKO/KO, most recently being stopped by Cat Zingano in UFC 178. The Bahia native will seem for her leg kicks to slow Cyborg down and fasten the takedown where she can perform her impressive floor and pound to become the first girl two-division champion.
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