Cris Cyborg will officially make her Bellator debut on Jan. 25 when she clashes with reigning featherweight champion Julia Budd at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
After the former UFC champion signed with the Viacom-owned promotion there were a lot of questions surrounding her first fight and whether or not she would immediately compete for the 145-pound title.
Rather than risk an upset against another opponent or potentially deal with an injury that could delay the highly anticipated fight, Bellator opted to book Cyborg vs. Budd right away.
For her part, Cyborg says she never gave Bellator any input regarding her opponent but rather deferred to them when it came to the matchmaking responsibilities for her debut.