Megan Anderson to fight Helena Kolesnyk at Invicta FC 24
Megan Anderson will put her Invicta featherweight title on the line against defeated Helena Kolesnyk in the main event of Invicta FC 24 on July 15 in Kansas City, Mo.
Cris Cyborg is the best fighter in women’s MMA and has been since ever since. However, it is difficult to see where she fits into the UFC.
Cyborg was brought into the league with the idea that she would gradually cut to 135 to face the seemingly unbeatable Ronda Rousey. Then Rousey proved to beatable, and Cyborg proved unable to drop to 135. The last cut, to 140, left her so debilitated she was not able to fight, and a doctor-prescribed drug to restore the normal functioning of her endocrine system flagged an anti-doping test, further delaying her return. A retroactive TUE was eventually issued.
In the mean time, the UFC went ahead with a featherweight title fight, matching Germaine de Randamie, who was not a top 10 fighter and 135, with Holly Holm, who was 0-2 her last two, at 135. It was the bizarro world championship. GDR won, but now says she wants to go back to 135 as Cyborg has a history of PED use.
Now Cyborg wants to fight, at her normal weight. She had been calling for a fight with Invicta FC champion Megan Anderson, who agreed. However, Anderson will put her Invicta featherweight title on the line against defeated Helena Kolesnyk in the main event of Invicta FC 24 on July 15 in Kansas City, Mo.
Cyborg was not impressed.
“I wish Megan good luck,” said Cyborg to FloCombat. “The fact she is fighting an undefeated 5-0 fighter at 145 proves there are women I could have been fighting in the UFC at 145 pounds the entire time I’ve been signed to the promotion instead of undersized girls being forced up a weight class once they’ve suffered a few losses at 135.”
Adding further confusion to Cyborg’s future, she was recently cited for misdemeanor battery by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, after she punched strawweight Angela Magana at the UFC Athlete Retreat, in a dispute over mean tweets.
And perhaps most importantly, during the recent Ultimate Fighter 26 tryouts, UFC president Dana White said he had recently made the decision to add a women’s 125-pound division, and followed up with a line that may be telling.
I think there’s enough talented women to make three good divisions,” he said.
The “three good divisions” he references are 115, 125, and 135. Where that 145-pound145 pound women’s division, and Cris Cyborg is very much a question.