nt"

CHICAGO – One year after her MMA career was put on hold, former Invicta FC women’s featherweight champ Megan Anderson is ready to get her octagon career underway.

Although her fight with ex-bantamweight champ Holly Holm (11-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) isn’t the one Anderson (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) originally planned when she signed with the UFC, she believes the twists and turns of her life will eventually lead her to where she wants to be.

Further, she said a win over Holm won’t define whether she’s capable of taking on champ Cris Cyborg (20-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), the challenge that spurred her move to the industry-leader.

“I don’t feel like I really have to prove anything,” Anderson told MMAjunkie in advance of a pay-per-view meeting with Holm on Saturday at UFC 225, which takes place at United Center in Chicago. “People are going to say whatever they want to say, no matter how I win, or what happens, or how I perform, everyone’s going to have their personal opinion.”

Privacy is of the utmost importance to Anderson, so she doesn’t feel like she needs to explain why she was forced out of a scheduled bout against Cyborg at UFC 214 this past year. She said the reasons for her withdrawal are personal and will stay a secret. More important is the fact that she’s here now and ready to fight.

If the UFC decides she’s ready to face Cyborg next, she’ll be ready. But she won’t obsess over the prospect.

Right now, the prevailing sentiment among MMA fans is that Cyborg is without equal. A dominant win over Holm this past December further solidified her as the best female fighter in the world. No fighter has been able to match her intensity in the octagon, and there have been few legitimate contenders that match her size and speed. A season of the long-running “The Ultimate Fighter” is currently in the works to groom future contenders for the 145-pound class. Cyborg was there to greet them in person.

Meanwhile, Anderson, a true match for Cyborg in physical stature, gets her first opportunity to show the world she can measure up to the champion.

Anderson watched as Cyborg tore through three opponents during her layoff – Tonya Evinger, Holm and Yana Kunitskaya. All of them are natural bantamweights.  Although she was “definitely upset” she wasn’t able to compete, she resolved to train harder so she would be even more well-prepared in her return.

“I was excited to watch her be able to achieve her dream,” Anderson said of Cyborg. “Really, it’s about creating fights in this division, and for a long time, it was just fights with Cris. But we’re starting a new phase now.”

For more on UFC 225, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.