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Yesterday, Invicta FC announced their first show of 2014 in a special conference call. The women's MMA promotion will hold all of its events on UFC Fight Pass, starting with Invicta FC 8 on September 6th. In addition to that bit of news, Shannon Knapp told MMA Junkie's Steven Marocco that featherweight champion Cris Cyborg will be at bantamweight for her next fight:
"Cyborg" Justino (12-1) is targeted for Invicta FC 10 against a TBA opponent, Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp said. She was targeted on two previous occasions to meet Ediane Gomes before injuries and event scheduling nixed the matchup. Justino could make her second appearance at 135 pounds in February or March, Knapp added.
One of the biggest barriers (among many others) standing between a potential Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg fight has been the fact that the UFC does not have a women's featherweight division and Cyborg has never fought at 135 lbs. In fact, she missed weight by 6 lbs back in Strikeforce when she fought Hitomi Akano.
Cyborg has been out of MMA action since last July when she won the Invicta featherweight title against Marloes Coenen. She took part in a pair of Muay Thai bouts in Lion Fight, winning her first by TKO and losing to Jorina Baars by unanimous decision.
If this picture of Cyborg at the forefront of the UFC's promoting of the Invicta library on Fight Pass is anything worth going by, this indicates a positive step towards Cyborg being in the UFC sooner rather than later. But first, Cyborg needs an opponent for her debut and obviously she has to actually make the weight.
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