Cyborg Calls Shields "Terrible" in MMA and Picks Nunes at UFC 334

Cris Cyborg has taken another shot at Claressa Shields, this time over her MMA skills. She also picked Amanda Nunes to win the UFC bantamweight title fight against Kayla Harrison at UFC 334.

The exchange began when a social media user posted footage of Shields fighting in MMA, praising it and saying she made it look easy. Cyborg replied, "She's terrible. I would hear her in mma without throwing a punch...and she could weigh whatever she wanted."

Two fighters, two careers

Cyborg is the first and so far only Grand Slam MMA champion. She has held the women's featherweight title in five major organizations: Strikeforce, Invicta FC, UFC, Bellator and PFL. Earlier this year she won the WIBA light middleweight belt, and she holds an unbeaten 7-0 record in professional boxing. She is the reigning PFL women's featherweight champion and is currently a free agent. Some believe she could sign with MVP MMA, following the recent PFL-MVP merger, or with Ki MMA, founded by Scott Coker.

Shields, one of Cyborg's biggest critics, fought three times in MMA between 2021 and 2024 before announcing her retirement from the sport. She has stayed in boxing, where she has competed since her youth and is a five-division champion.

The pick for UFC 334

Asked who would win Harrison against Nunes, Cyborg answered with a single word: "Nunes."

Harrison, the reigning UFC women's bantamweight champion and former PFL lightweight champion, is booked to face Nunes, a former two-division UFC titleholder. The two will co-headline UFC 334 on November 14.

Cyborg has a history with both. Nunes beat her by TKO in their UFC women's featherweight title fight in 2018, and many in the MMA community later criticized Nunes and the UFC for not giving Cyborg a rematch. Cyborg left the UFC the next year. In 2023 she knocked out Cat Zingano in Bellator; Zingano is the last person to have knocked Nunes out. That result fueled calls for a Cyborg-Nunes rematch, which never happened. A fight between Cyborg and Harrison has been a dream matchup for fans for years, but it did not happen either.

Cyborg's most recent MMA fight was a unanimous decision win over Ketlen Vieira in the PFL. It was widely taken to be her final appearance as a competitor, but she has lately hinted that her MMA career will continue.

Source: MMA Sucka