Cris Cyborg inks record-breaking contract for Bellator MMA

In news that will likely surprise no one, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s featherweight champion, Cristiane Justino, has reunited with her old Strikeforce boss, Scott Coker, following a record-breaking contract that brings “Cyborg” into Bellator MMA.

So much for that career as a barista.

“I have worked with countless athletes over my thirty-plus years of promoting combat sports, but there is no one quite like ‘Cyborg’,” Bellator President Scott Coker said. “Her ability to excite the crowd from the moment she makes her walk to the cage is special, and having had the pleasure of promoting several of her fights in the past, I am looking forward to the opportunity of promoting her once again.”

Justino (21-2, 1 NC) was unable to come to terms on a new deal with UFC and her relationship with promotion president Dana White, already on shaky ground, took a complete nosedive after the Brazilian lost her strap to Amanda Nunes.

And the video controversy that followed certainly didn’t help matters.

“‘Cyborg’ is the most dominant female fighter in the history of the sport and she will be a perfect fit here at Bellator,” Coker continued. “Champion Julia Budd and the other women that make up best female featherweight division in the world have eagerly awaited her arrival.”

No date or opponent has been named for the 34 year-old featherweight’s upcoming debut, but I can’t imagine we’re many (if any) fights away from a title shot. After all, if the promotion is touting this as “the largest contract in the history of women’s MMA,” then it’s going to get its money’s worth.