CURITIBA, Brazil -- Cris Cyborg is set to make her UFC debut Saturday against Leslie Smith, but the UFC had other opponents in mind for the Brazilian.
The Invicta FC featherweight champion faces Smith in a 140-pound catchweight bout, and former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm was one of the fighters who turned down the offer.
Holm, who mentioned in the past that she would move up to fight Cyborg if offered, will now face Valentina Shevchenko in the main event of UFC on FOX 20.
"People say what they want in interviews, but when they get a contract they say other things," Cyborg said of Holm’s decision during a media scrum.