A champion across several major MMA organizations, the legendary
Cristiane
Justino knows her remaining time as a fighter is limited.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship, Strikeforce, Bellator MMA and Invicta Fighting Championships beltholder has
done what no one else has in mixed martial arts: win titles across
five major promotions. Currently serving as PFL’s featherweight
champ, she claimed that throne by trumping Larissa
Pacheco in 2024 across five rounds, and defended it by
mollywhopping Sara
Collins at the end of 2025. At the age of 40, “Cris Cyborg”
wants one more MMA match, and she has already made her thoughts
known.
Advertisement
The Brazilian traveled to Rio de Janeiro recently and appeared on
the Wednesday edition of Combate’s “Mundo da Luta”
podcast. There, the longtime veteran confirmed that 2026 would be
the last year she steps into a cage or a ring as a pro. “Cris
Cyborg” solidified her plan to compete just once more in MMA, and
only one more time in boxing. If she had her pick for the former,
she would take on undefeated wunderkind and flyweight Dakota
Ditcheva, a name she called for after crushing Collins with a
face crank.
“Our legacy tour started against Pacheco and then with Sara
Collins,” Justino explained. “I would like to do the last one with
someone that made sense, so I suggested Dakota, who is undefeated,
in a catchweight. I’m much thinner, but let’s see what the PFL
decides.
From Harming to Healing
“Cris Cyborg” also revealed that she intends on having one more
fight as a boxer, but unlike her MMA aspirations, an opponent is
not her main focus. She is aware that finding a foe is up to the
promoter and sanctioning body, and she is not tied to any in
particular. The Brazilian turned pro in the sweet science in 2022,
and she has since racked up seven wins across her home country of
Brazil, the U.S., Britain and Colombia—with the show in London an
exhibition affair that should not count on her professional record.
Her last five wins as a boxer have come by stoppage within three
rounds.
“When I don’t have an MMA fight scheduled, I train boxing,” she
further declared. “I want to compete for a belt…this year.”
Once she has wrapped up her career of violence and carnage, the
woman with a 78% finish rate in MMA would like to transition to do
no more harm. If she has her way, she will next fulfill a lifelong
dream.
“I love animals, and I’ve always dreamed of a being a veterinarian.
And this will be my 100% focus from 2027 onwards,” “Cris Cyborg”
expressed.
This is far from a new development for the Brazilian, who operates
what she affectionally refers to as her “mini zoo.” She recently
added several more animals to her homestead, including a pair of
cows named Kayla and Ronda. They join a crew not limited to a dog
whose name is Chael; cats named Laila, Holly and Sugar; a pig
called Manny Porkiao and a parrot with the name of Jose Aldo.