Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports fans in Canada and around the world tuned in to UFC219 which was the final MMA event of 2017.
UFC219 took place on December 30 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and was headlined by Cris Cyborg vs. Holy Holm.
Cyborg was defending her UFC Women's Featherweight Championship at 145 pounds for the first time and Holy ‘The Preachers Daughter’ Holm was looking to become the first woman to defeat Cyborg in nearly a decade.
Holm is a former UFC Champion albeit at 135 pounds and moved up a weight-class to see if she could finish the year by winning another UFC Championship.
Cyborg proved to be more dominant and confident in all departments although it must be said that Holm put up a good fight and took Cyborg to a unanimous decision win. This was the first time in the last 10 years that Cyborg hasn’t been able to finish a fight – which is testament to Holm’s skill and tenacity. The two fighters won a performance of the night bonus of $50,000 each.
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Holm who is known for battling anxiety before fights looked very agitated as she walked into the Octagon and was continuously pacing the cage before the fight could start and before each round. She is known for her high kicks – which was what knocked out Ronda Rousey and ended her career. However, she hardly threw any kicks against Cyborg nor did she try to take Cyborg to the ground.
Cris Cyborg has proved with this win that she is indeed the baddest woman on the planet and it will now be up to the UFC brass to find quality contenders to fight the UFC champion in 2018. This is going to be difficult as there are very few women out there who are willing to step into the Octagon with Cyborg and trade punches with her. Cyborg has made her preference clear and said that she would like to fight in Australia and face Aussie Megan Anderson who was scheduled to fight her earlier in 2017 but pulled out due to injury.
UFC219 will also be remembered for the return of ‘The Eagle’ Khabib Nurmagomedov who completely dominated Edson Barboza to pick up her unanimous decision which established him as the number one contender at lightweight. The Eagle now has his sights on a fight with either Champion Conor McGregor or interim champion Tony Ferguson in the first quarter of 2018.
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