Filed under: Featured, News, UFC

Cris Cyborg is the most dominant female MMA fighter of all time, and she appears poised to find out if her success will translate to the ring.

Cyborg, the UFC women’s featherweight champion, recently applied for a boxing license and was granted one Wednesday by the California State Athletic Commission, MMAFighting.com confirmed with the CSAC, noting that she was also issued a federal boxing ID.

Since claiming the previously vacant title with a TKO of Tonya Evinger at UFC 214 last month, Cyborg (18-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has been uncertain about what her future holds. For starters, her UFC contract is set to expire in October. There’s also the fact that her weight class, which was created earlier this year, is without fighters (Evinger is a natural bantamweight); the UFC has yet to sign women to fill out the division.

Cyborg said earlier this month she preferred her first title defense come against former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm, who fought Germaine de Randame – and lost – in the inaugural UFC women’s 145-pound title bout. Cyborg-Holm is a bout UFC President Dana White said he likes, and Holm has expressed interest, though an agreement hasn’t been reached.

Cyborg didn’t immediately comment on the news of her boxing license, though a retweet of MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani would indicate she’s serious about a career in the ring.

MMAFighting.com also reported she intends to compete in the junior middleweight division (154) of women’s boxing.

Cyborg, 32, is no stranger to the ring. She’s spent time this year sparring with two-time Olympic gold medalist and WBC/IBF champion Claressa Shields, who tweeted a video of one of their sessions in June.

Cyborg is a slugger and considered one of MMA’s heaviest hitters – male or female. Perhaps a transition to the boxing ring would be smoother than expected.

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

Filed under: Featured, News, UFC