Cris Cyborg’s final MMA fight is set as she will fight Ketlen Vieira at PFL Tampa on August 22.
It would seem the final fight of Cris Cyborg’s illustrious MMA career is set as the PFL announces that the Brazilian legend will take on fellow UFC veteran Ketlen Vieira on August 22 in Tampa, Florida. The event is set to take place at the Benchmark International Arena.
Fighting for legacy on October 19th 🏆
The 2 Division PFL World Champion @lpacchec clashes with the Women’s GOAT @criscyborg inside the PFL SmartCage
[ #PFLSuperFights | #BraceForImpact | Sat, Oct 19th | 4PM ET ] pic.twitter.com/uIuz1k7viA
— PFL (@PFLMMA) October 6, 2024
To say that Cris “Cyborg” Justino has had an amazing career would be an understatement. With a record of 29-2, it is not an exaggeration to say that Justino is the most dominant MMA fighter either male or female to ever step foot inside the cage. Losing only once since her professional debut, “Cyborg” wrote the record book for women’s MMA by capturing titles in every major American promotion by winning gold in the UFC, Bellator, PFL, Strikeforce, and Invicta.
Along the way, Cyborg became one of the first women to break through to the masses in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s as the sport began to escape its bubble and get into the mainstream. She was part of the first major women’s fight to air on network television when she fought Gina Carano on CBS and in her career notched victories over the likes of former UFC champion Holly Holm, longtime Bellator title holder Julia Budd, and PFL champion Larissa Pacheco. The one loss in her reign of dominance was to fellow pound-for-pound great Amanda Nunes in a fire fight back in 2018. While “Cyborg” expressed her interest in a rematch for years, the fight took place near the end of her UFC contract and the breakdown of her relationship with the promotion’s brass led to her leaving in free agency and the sequel was left as one of the great fights lost into the ether. While Justino has been less active in MMA as of late, she has been testing herself in boxing where she has gone 8-0 since 2022.
Ketlen Vieira enters as the most notable recent signees of 2026 for the PFL. “Fenomeno” is a ten year UFC veteran who entered the promotion with an undefeated record of 6-0. During her tenure, she recorded victories over former champions Miesha Tate, Holly Holm (both of whom she defeated in headliners), and former title challengers Sara McMann and Cat Zingano.
Most recently, she alternated wins and losses with victories over Pannie Kianzad and Macy Chiasson and losses to current champion Kayla Harrison and (at the time) future champion Raquel Pennington. She competed in her final UFC bout last month where she defeated surging contender Jacqueline Cavalcanti by unanimous decision. Despite the performance and the struggle to keep building contenders at women’s bantamweight, the fight was the last on her UFC contract and the promotion made the immediate decision not to re-sign her to a new deal.
Now in PFL, she enters with a huge opportunity to spoil the retirement of a living legend with an immediate title shot. Notably however, the PFL has not fielded a women’s featherweight division consistently for months and so there is question of what the promotion’s plans would be for Vieira’s future regardless of the result.
No undercard bouts have been announced. Pre-sale tickets are available now.
