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Cris Cyborg headlines her first UFC fight card as a champion on Saturday at UFC 219. Cyborg, who won the vacant featherweight title in July with a TKO win over Tony Evinger, meets former bantamweight champion Holly Holm in UFC 219’s pay-per-view main event, the UFC’s final card of 2017.

Cyborg has long been recognized as one of the most feared women in MMA. The fact that she’s gone the distance only twice in her 12-year career – and not once since 2008 – is a testament to her ability as a fighter. She hasn’t lost a fight since her debut in 2005.

Before Cyborg (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and Holm (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) meet at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, here are 10 of the most memorable moments of Cyborg’s one-of-a-kind career.

Check out video highlights of the events, as well, courtesy of UFC Fight Pass.

10. Inauspicious debut

Cyborg’s professional MMA career began with a loss. On May 17, 2005, 19-year-old Cyborg faced Erica Paes at Show Fight 2. Cyborg’s aggression got the best of her in that bout. She was taken down early but escaped back to her feet. Paes remained on the ground. As Cyborg looked to land strikes, Paes caught the young fighter in a double kneebar. The unorthodox submission forced Cyborg to tap at the 1:46 mark of the first round.

Anyone who saw that fight could not have predicted that Cyborg would one day become the most feared fighter in women’s MMA.

The loss to Paes remains the only defeat on Cyborg’s record.

9. Welcome to America

The first time many North American fight fans saw Cyborg was on July 26, 2008, when she faced Shayna Baszler at “Elite XC: Unfinished Business.” More than 2.6 million viewers tuned into CBS to watch the event.

Baszler entered the fight with nearly three times the experience of Cyborg. Baszler was the betting favorite thanks to that experience and her 10 submission wins.

Baszler did her best to lock up a submission in the first round, but she never got close to accomplishing that goal. When the second stanza began, Cyborg opened up her striking while Baszler’s energy faded. With 90 seconds left in the round, Cyborg dropped her opponent and prematurely jumped atop the cage to celebrate her victory. However, referee Steve Mazzagatti had not waved off the fight. When the action continued, Cyborg pushed Baszler against the fence, where she landed multiple punches. With 12 seconds left in the round, Cyborg finished things with a right hand.

The fight marked the last time Cyborg entered a bout as the underdog.

8. And new

Cyborg met Gina Carano in the main event of a Strikeforce card in August 2009. When Jimmy Lennon Jr. introduced the fighters, the crowd booed Cyborg. Carano, meanwhile, received a loud ovation from the nearly 14,000 fans inside HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

The fight opened with the Brazilian pushing the American against the cage and attempting a sloppy throw. The fight then went to the ground, and Cyborg attempted a leg lock. Unable to secure the hold, the two returned to their feet. Cyborg again flubbed a throw and landed on her back, and Carano gained mount. After a few seconds of ground-and-pound, Carano stood and allowed Cyborg to get to her feet.

That was a mistake.

Cyborg took over from there. After an aborted submission attempt, Cyborg unloaded with ground strikes, which brought an end to the contest at the 4:59 mark of the first round.

The win gave Cyborg the inaugural Strikeforce women’s featherweight title. Carano never fought again after the loss.

7. Serious about this MMA thing

Cyborg’s style has changed over the years. Once a brawler who attacked with power punches, she’s now more judicious in choosing her shots. But if you’ve never seen the “old” Cyborg, cue up her Strikeforce title defense against Jan Finney in June 2010.

Cyborg beat Finney in just about every possible position in that matchup – in the open, against the cage and on the ground. The fight lasted until the 2:56 mark of the second round, but it could have been stopped much earlier, according to a 2015 MMAjunkie list of “stoppages that came way, way too late.”

When the final counts were totaled, Cyborg landed 127 total strikes to Finney’s 29.

6. A black mark

In December 2011, Cyborg defended her Strikeforce title against Hiroko Yamanaka. It took her 16 seconds to finish the fight. What happened a few weeks after Cyborg’s knockout win has haunted her to this day.

In January 2012, the California State Athletic Commission announced Cyborg tested positive for stanozolol metabolites after the fight. As a result of the failed drug test, the bout was ruled a no-contest. Cyborg was also fined $2,500, suspended for one year and stripped of her Strikeforce title. She didn’t fight for the promotion again.

5. UFC debut

After years of hemming and hawing, the UFC booked Cyborg for a fight. She made her promotional debut at UFC 198 in her home country of Brazil. The bout was a 140-pound catchweight affair against Leslie Smith. When betting odds closed for the fight, Cyborg was a 20-1 favorite.

The highly anticipated matchup started slowly. For the first 64 seconds, Cyborg worked at distance, but the Brazilian then turned on the heat. Cyborg attacked her opponent’s body and head with a flurry that dropped Smith. From there, the end came quickly compliments of several hammerfists on the ground.

As soon as the referee waved off the fight, Cyborg jumped to the top of the cage to soak in the cheers from the Brazilian fans.

The final stat count for the fight was 30 strikes landed for Cyborg and three for Smith.

4. More controversy

In December 2016, Cyborg was notified of a potential doping violation from an out-of-competition sample. “Potential” violations tend to bring out the worst in MMA fans. This was especially true for Cyborg due to her past drug-test failure.

However, in February the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) gave Cyborg the all-clear to return to competition without a suspension. Cyborg tested positive for spironolactone, a banned diuretic. She had used the substance with a prescription as post-fight therapy following a severe weight cut. Cyborg was granted a retroactive therapeutic use exemption after USADA reviewed her medical history.

Shortly after the resolution, Cyborg vacated the Invicta FC title and called for a shot at then-champion Germaine de Randamie at UFC 214 – a fight that never materialized.

3. An olive branch

Cyborg has had a rocky relationship with the UFC over the years. She’s heard UFC President Dana White say she’s been mismanaged. She’s dealt with the promotion’s reluctance to open the women’s featherweight division. She’s endured two horrific weight cuts to compete at a nonsensical catchweight of 140 pounds. And let’s not forget the ugly and inexcusable comments over the years from Ronda Rousey, White and UFC commentator Joe Rogan.

But time – and perhaps a lack of marketable stars – tends to heal wounds.

“We signed Cyborg, we made a commitment to Cyborg, and not everything is easy and not everything is as fun as other divisions or whatever, but we made a commitment to this woman. She’s had a rough go here in the UFC,” White told MMAjunkie in an exclusive sit-down interview in June. “She hasn’t been thrilled with things that have been said, things that have been done. And to be honest with you, we’ve made some mistakes when it comes to Cyborg. So the least we can do is get our sh*t together and get this woman a fight for the title.”

Cyborg got that fight at UFC 214.

2. UFC gold

Moments after White awarded Rousey the UFC women’s bantamweight title on Dec. 6, 2012, the very first question he faced was why wasn’t the newly minted champion facing Cyborg in her first title defense.

White said that was the fight the UFC wanted to make, and that he believed the next title contest would be the champion vs. Cyborg.

Cyborg, though, never got the opportunity to fight for that title.

More than five years later, Cyborg battled Tony Evinger for the featherweight title after the UFC stripped the belt from De Randamie when she refused to face Cyborg.

Evinger was game, but like Cyborg’s 18 previous opponents, she was no match for the fearsome striker. The end came at the 1:56 mark of the third-round after Cyborg landed a knee to Evinger’s head against the fence.

“I don’t have words to say; I just want to thank fans for watching me,” Cyborg said after her title-winning performance. “Cyborg nation forever!”

1. Take the high road

Some of the ugliest moments of Cyborg’s career have come when representatives of the UFC attacked her in the media.

“This girl has been on steroids for so long and (has been) injecting herself for so long that she’s not even a woman anymore,” Rousey told Yahoo! Sports. “She’s an ‘it.’ It’s not good for the women’s division. It’s not good at all.”

White piled on when he followed up on Rousey’s comments.

“She was walking up the stairs (at the World MMA Awards), jacked up on steroids beyond belief, and looked like Wanderlei Silva in a dress and heels,” White said prior to UFC 172.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan and Tony Hinchliffe “joked” about Cyborg having male genitals on Rogan’s podcast.

After winning the featherweight title, Cyborg had the opportunity to address White and Rogan. White had just wrapped the belt around her waist and Rogan was interviewing her inside the octagon after she claimed the title.

Cyborg took the high road.

“It was my moment there,” Cyborg said after UFC 214. “I think him, at that moment, interviewing me, and Dana White putting the belt on my waist. That was a response in itself. I didn’t need to say anything. I think they reflected at that moment. I didn’t need to say anything and ruin a special moment for me.”

For more on UFC 219, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.

Filed under: Featured, News, UFC