Cyborg taking birth control for weight cut for UFC Brasilia

Cris Cyborg's longstanding war with the scale wages on.

Just four days away from her 140-pound catchweight meeting with Lina Lansberg in Brazil, Cyborg revealed on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour she currently weighs 165 pounds, 25 shy from the permissible limit. In an effort to better manage her ungodly weight cut, Justino's nutritionist, George Lockhart, has put her on a steady regiment of birth control pills.

"This camp, my nutrition coach started to give me birth control, and I'd never taken this in my life. I've been taking it every day for three months and my body feels a little bit weird, but he said it's going to be good for me and to believe in him. I flew in from America at 168 pounds.

"He told me to start because he said it would help me lose weight."

Lockhart was recently enlisted by Conor McGregor in preparation of his rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202, and has worked closely with Cyborg for the last two-and-a-half years.

Cyborg, a career featherweight, claims she weighed 175 pounds when she was contacted for the bout with Lansberg, with four weeks less to prepare for the fight than her UFC debut against Leslie Smith at UFC 198. For the entirety of this training camp, the Brazilian's weight never hit the 150s, which doesn't bode well, given her cut ahead of the Smith fight reduced her to tears.

Whether she miraculously sheds the 25 pounds by Friday's weigh-in or not, Cyborg said she'll heed her doctor's words and ditch the birth control. As for how she plans to make weight, Cyborg merely said she trusts herself and her team to get through the next four grueling days.

She meets Lansberg in the main event of UFC Fight Night 95 on Saturday in her native Brazil.