Quote: Cris Cyborg Never Needed A Gameplan Until Fighting Amanda Nunes

Cris Cyborg suffered the first defeat of her mixed martial arts (MMA) career in over a decade.

At UFC 232 on pay-per-view (PPV) last month, Cyborg dropped her 145-pound title to women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Nunes came into the fight and knocked out Cyborg in under a minute. It was a shocking way for the fight to end, but Cyborg bulldozed her way towards “The Lioness” early, showing no respect for her power.

In the end, it cost her everything. Speaking to MMA Junkie on the situation recently, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate offered her thoughts. Tate said, until fighting Nunes, Cyborg never needed a strategy heading into a fight:

“I said, if she lands that right hand – if Cyborg doesn’t respect the fact that Amanda has enough power to knock her out, she’s going to be in trouble,” Tate said. “I was like, ‘Cyborg needs a strategy.’ She’s never needed a strategy in a fight.”

Tate has shared the Octagon with Nunes, and has felt the wrath of the UFC’s first-ever female “Champ Champ’s” unforgiving power. She compared a jab from Nunes to getting caught with a right-hand, and a right-hand is the equivilent to getting smashed by a truck:

“Her simple jab feels like a right hand, and then her right-hand feels like you got hit by a truck,” Tate said. “I didn’t even know where I was half of that fight.”