Brazilian MMA star Cris Cyborg made her pro-boxing debut in a grandiose way on Sunday and she is now an undefeated professional boxer. In a sensational bout of boxing, the current Bellator women’s featherweight champion laced up the boxing gloves for the second time in 2022 to take on fellow MMA veteran Gabrielle Holloway.

This massively anticipated four-round pro boxing bout turned out to be the co-main event under Terence Crawford vs. David Avanesyan at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb. It was also aired on BLK Prime pay-per-view and opened to a huge number of viewers watching. 

Cyborg’s punch-pulling made the MMA fans nostalgic as the fighter seems to have a pretty similar fashion in taking down her opponent, no matter which ring she enters. Her forward pressure and aggression dictated the fight and in the third round of the contest, she power-punched Hollaway with continuous hooks and body shots. 

Although Hollaway made it back to her feet to fight the final round, the pressure from the 37-year-old was a bit too much to take. She hunted for a knockout but it never came. Despite that, she emerged as the winner on the day convincingly after Holloway made her way to Cyborg in the final two-minute round to wind up a terrific match.

The judges scored the fight 40-35, 39-36, and 40-34 in favor of Cyborg.

The Brazilian competed in her first boxing bout in September against Simone Silva at Fight Music Show 2. However, there needed to be more clarity about the classification of the bout as an exhibition or a professional bout, which made her match against Hollaway the professional boxing debut of her illustrious career. This match was sanctioned by the Nebraska Athletic Commission as a pro contest.

Before Saturday’s fight, Cyborg mentioned MMA Junkie about her intentions to return to the MMA cage in the summer of 2023. This will be to defend her Bellator title against Cat Zingano, but she is also open to other challenges like taking on 2022 PFL lightweight champion Larissa Pacheco.

Cyborg’s appearance in MMA was against Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 279 in April, a fight she won by unanimous decision to record her fourth title defense.