In a sexting confession that has rocked the mixed martial arts community, Cris Cyborg, the undisputed monarch of ladies’ combat sports, has indicated that the year 2026 will be her final year in the cage. The 40-year-old Brazilian giant, who has built her iron fist in numerous promotions, revealed her retirement intentions to the Professional Fighters League in an exclusive conversation before bringing herself back to the octagon.
My last year is near, Cyborg said in a matter-of-fact tone, her voice full of twenty years of fought battles and legacies created. This news is not only personal but also the end of one of the most successful careers in MMA history.
These words by Cyborg are timely. She is strapping her gloves back on again after over 12 months out of MMA action, and she is set to face an unbeaten prospect in Sara Collins in a high-stakes clash in Lyon, France, on December 13.
This fight marks what Cyborg refers to as her legacy tour, a calculated swan song which is meant to pay tribute to her origins but also to cleanse up any loose ends of the PFL. Fans and fighters both are gearing up for an emotive drive, with the female who has made the headlines of such events as both Strikeforce and Bellator about to retire on her own terms.
An Inheritance of Determinacy
The story of the rise to the top of Cristiane Justino, also known as Cristiane Cyborg, is an epic tale of combat sports. She came onto the scene in the early 2000s and was soon making waves in the Brazilian MMA up-and-coming industry.
In 2009, she became the Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion and displayed her belt several times by laying down ferocious punches, which left her opponent and spectators sprawling on the ground.
Her conversion to the UFC in 2016 came with drama, such as a controversial mistake of missing weight that cancelled a superfight against Ronda Rousey. Cyborg would not give up and won the UFC featherweight title in 2017, but eventually relinquished it following changes in management.
That is not the end of her trophy case. The two-time Invicta FC featherweight champion, then featherweight ruler of Bellator, having won three of their defences, Cyborg currently holds the PFL featherweight belt and is a featherweight fighter.
She has 28 professional wins in the MMA, 21 of which were finishes, of which 13 were knockouts, which demonstrate her trademark combination of Muay Thai precision and pure power.
She is the first woman to win 5 world titles in all and has apparently overcome weight divisions and promotions with a huge efficiency that has doubted even her existence as a human being, a fact that has seen her nicknamed Cyborg.
However, beneath the cyborg mask is a warrior who is motivated by something other than winning. Cyborg has gone on record complaining about the cost of the sport- the draining training programs, the lingering injuries and the perpetual male-dominated industry scrutiny. Her strength came out the most in 2018 when she tested positive for a banned substance, which, she claimed, was a result of a flu medication.
No longer guilty of an intentional offence, she came back stronger and proved her worth with a series of highlight-reel performances. And now, nearing the time of retirement, Cyborg takes a look back on the career that has not only redefined the role of women in MMA, but also left the road to the next generation.
The Spark to Retirement: A New Chapter Before Fiscal
What prompted this decision? Cyborg has been communicating this since she has been hinting at it, but her recent interview has made it explicit. Her most recent MMA win, a unanimous decision over Larissa Pacheco in the 2024 PFL World Championship in Saudi Arabia, has given her a boost of energy in her boxing, where she has continued to win contests to keep her competitive advantage sharp.
These expeditions into the squared circle acted as a transition, and she could remain active with all the brutal aspects of MMA without the full demands of the multidimensional technique.
Cyborg clarified that he has another purpose in life, but he did not mean the fight game. Although things are kept in low profile, others are speculating about what could be ventured into, coaching or broadcasting, or even venturing into entrepreneurship relating to her management company, Justino Group. At 40, when his body takes in a thousand more hits and grapples, it comes at the right time.
We will have a plan to retire, she stated, and this time round, it was not going to be a blowout, but a gradual phasing out. This style is in keeping with her painstaking style, one punch hit, one battle strategised.
Her finalisation of a PFL contract is a no-flyer. Having two fights to go, Cyborg considers them important periods. The former, as opposed to Collins, puts the veteran in a rivalry with a 26-year-old English sensation who has a 7-fight winning streak.
Collins, a submission specialist with a judo background, is the new blood that Cyborg used to represent. Winning this would not only continue her streak but would confirm a possible blockbuster ending, perhaps a rematch with Pacheco or a cross-promotional war.
Eyes on Lyon: The Good-Bye Tour Ignites
The PFL Europe event in Lyon is not any other fight card; it is Cyborg returning to the scene she has been managing to dominate so much. The stadium will be sold out, and the featherweight icon, who is 5-foot-8 with a hydraulic-piston arm, will glare down at her challenger.
Collins has vowed to make it a ground-and-pound match, and she swears she will pound her down. However, sceptics lose the development of Cyborg: her enhanced grapple, strategic skill and that hard stare that shatters souls long before fists start swinging.
Training camp took the form of a family affair with Cyborg attributing her husband, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, who is also an MMA veteran, to keeping her on her feet. It makes me stay alive, it makes me motivated, she said of the experience of the shared journey.
With her being 21 in the sport next year, peers like Amanda Nunes, who she has long been rival-cum-friend, and Kayla Harrison, who once heralded her as the greatest of all time, should honour her.
The void will be experienced by the greater MMA environment. The exit of Cyborg is predicted by a changing guard: Rousey is long gone, Nunes is selective on her comebacks, and younger stars such as Julianna Pena are competing to be the best.
Her departure highlights the physical nature of the sport, in which survival is an exceptional thing. However, as a proper Cyborg, it is not going quietly. She desires to motivate, to demonstrate the fact that heroes can walk away with their heads high.
The Cage: The Long-term Legacy of Cyborg
By the year 2026, the last year of Cyborg will be full of fireworks. There will be high-profile games, emotional press conferences and possibly two or more Hall of Fame inductions. The impact of her work goes much deeper than statistics because she is a pioneer who headlined when it was not the norm, a female activist who demanded equal compensation, and a brand that is synonymous with quality. Her story is one of determination and victory, whether it is the gyms in Curitiba or the arenas all over the world.
When Cris Cyborg puts away her gloves, she never removes her mark, but embosses it instead. This will be the end of this chapter, but there will be new ones. To fans, this is a bittersweet one: it is the end of an era, but an appreciation of a warrior who changed the possibilities. When Lyon comes close, everybody is watching the lady who was one step ahead. And my last year is at hand, and MMA will not be like that.
