Cyborg defends title by unanimous decision over Holm in UFC 219 closer
Cris Cyborg passed the stiffest test of her career with flying colors.
In her first fight to go the distance in over nine years, the 32-year-old submitted a calculated performance to successfully defend her featherweight title against Holly Holm by unanimous decision Saturday in UFC 219's main event in Las Vegas.
Cyborg extended her win streak to a gaudy 19 with her fourth victory in the Octagon and first defense of the strap she won with a third-round TKO of Tonya Evinger in July. When asked who she aimed to take on next in her postfight interview, the featherweight queen posited a date with Megan Anderson - whom Evinger replaced on short notice at UFC 214 - in Australia.
Cyborg retains against Holly Holm via unanimous decision. Cyborg looked composed and ultimately just measured + timed Holm by round 3. Outstanding showcase. #UFC219 #AndStill pic.twitter.com/2N1KSmPiZB
— Ahmar Khan (@AhmarSKhan) December 31, 2017
Holm might have been the most accomplished and technically proficient striker Cyborg had ever faced, but it was her clinch work that frustrated the defending champ early. As she's been wont to do throughout her career, Cyborg incessantly walked Holm down, but instead of initiating the exchanges, picked off her entries with her right hand, prompting Holm to resort to the clinch against the fence - where she astonishingly outmuscled Cyborg through the first two rounds, if only to temporarily stifle her pressure.
Cyborg lands a flurry at the end of the round and catches Holm!!@CrisCyborg #UFC219 pic.twitter.com/AtWkW0tTWu
— UFC (@ufc) December 31, 2017
The champ seized the reins in the third, holding her own in the clinch and finding continued success with a crisp right hand that all but shut Holm's left eye before putting a button on the frame with one of her patented flurries.
As Holm repeatedly circled to toward Cyborg's power side in an effort to set up some substantial offense, the champ continued to land the right, sprinkled in head kicks with increased success, and scored with knees from the clinch throughout the championship rounds to secure the W on all three scorecards.
Holm fell short in her second bid to become the UFC's first female two-division titleholder after dropping a controversial decision to Germaine de Randamie in the featherweight class' first championship bout at UFC 208 in February. The former bantamweight queen has now lost four of her last five, with three of those defeats coming in title bouts.