UFC champ Cris Cyborg 'bigger draw than anybody even knows,' coach says

Cris Cyborg has drawn big numbers before – but just wait until she headlines a UFC pay-per-view, said her coach.

“A lot of people know who Cris is,” Jason Parillo told MMAjunkie in advance of Cyborg’s first UFC women’s featherweight title defense opposite Holly Holm at UFC 219. “She’s a big draw as it is, but she’s a bigger draw than anybody even knows, because we haven’t had her on this big promotion.”

After a long period of uncertainty, posturing and a near-miss at UFC 198, Cyborg inked a fight with ex-bantamweight champion Holly Holm. The two will face off Dec. 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Cyborg, who hasn’t lost since her professional debut in 2005, received a new UFC contract prior to signing her bout contract.

The UFC reportedly was working on bringing lightweight champion Conor McGregor back to the octagon at the year-end pay-per-view event. But the promotion instead stuck with Cyborg (18-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. Holm (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) as the main event.

The top billing puts the female MMA stars’ drawing power center stage.

The estimated pay-per-view buy rate for Cyborg’s most recent appearance at UFC 214, where she claimed the featherweight title against Tonya Evinger, was 850,000 buys – though the promotion does not release official numbers that are independently verifiable.

Prior to that bout, Cyborg headlined the FS1-televised UFC Fight Night 95 and drew 1.326 million viewers for a fight with a TKO of Lina Lansberg.

Holm’s shocking knockout of Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 was backed by a reported 1.1 million pay-per-view buy rate. With the belt around her waist, she co-headlined a blockbuster event featuring McGregor vs. Nate Diaz that drew 1.3 million buys.

“You need a good opponent to make you great as well, and in Holly Holm, we’ve got that,” Parillo said.

Holm now comes into the bout following a recent knockout win over Bethe Correia, which reversed a two-fight skid that took the belt away. The former boxing and UFC champ represents one of the most technical challenges of Cyborg’s career.

“I believe (Cyborg) can go in there and dominate, and that’s what we expect,” Parillo said. “We also expect the worst. We’re training for how this fight can go any way.

“Cris is just on another level than these girls. I really, truly believe she is. I know Holly has all the experience in the world and is very smart and an intelligent fighter, and they’re going to go in there with a hell of a game plan, but Cris is a different animal.”

For more information on UFC 219, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.