Cris Cyborg cracks ratings top 10, beats ‘Poirier vs Johnson’ on FOX Sports 1

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) gave Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Cristiane Justino her first-ever UFC main event last weekend, as the Brazilian headlined UFC Fight Night 95 in Brazil.

Smart move.

“Cyborg” helped lead FOX Sports 1 to its best ratings since “Hunt vs. Mir” last March — ninth all time — with her technical knockout win over Lina Lansberg (replay). The UFC “Brasilia” co-main event saw Renan Barao capture a hard-fought decision win over Efrain Escudero.

Dave Meltzer has more:

Justino's win over Lina Lansberg drew 1,326,000 viewers, the best of any fight on the show. The strongest demo for the show was Males 35-49, and in the 18-49 demo, the audience was 67 percent males, meaning that more women than usual watched the broadcast.

UFC beat everything except college football, according to the report.

Cyborg and Co. did well enough to top the UFC Fight Night 94: “Poirier vs. Johnson” mixed martial arts (MMA) event, also on FOX Sports 1, from earlier in the month. The Brazilian’s only other appearance inside the Octagon came at UFC 198 last May.

No doubt UFC will have her back ... but at what weight?

Time will tell.