The legendary Cristiane Justino is a champion for several major MMA organizations and 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 done in mixed martial arts: win titles in five major promotions. Currently serving as PFL’s Featherweight Champion, she claimed that throne by defeating Larissa Pacheco over five rounds in 2024 and defended it in late 2025 by defeating Sara Collins. At 40 years old, ‘Cris Cyborg’ wants another MMA match, and she has already made her thoughts known.
The Brazilian recently traveled to Rio de Janeiro and appeared on Wednesday’s edition of Combate’s “World of Struggle”
podcast. There, the longtime veteran confirmed that 2026 would be the last year she steps into a cage or ring as a professional. “Cris Cyborg” reinforced her plan to compete one more time in MMA, and just one more time in boxing. If she chose the former, she would face undefeated prodigy and flyweight Dakota Ditcheva, a name she called out after crushing Collins with a face crank.“Our legacy tour started against Pacheco and then Sara Collins,” Justino explained. “I’d like to do the latter with someone who made sense, so I suggested Dakota, who is undefeated, at a catchweight. I’m much thinner, but let’s see what the PFL decides.”
From damage to healing
“Cris Cyborg” also revealed that she plans to have another fight as a boxer, but unlike her MMA ambitions, an opponent is not her main focus. She is aware that finding an enemy is a matter for the promoter and the sanctioning body, and she is not tied to any specific authority. The Brazilian turned pro in the sweet science in 2022 and has since claimed seven victories in her home country of Brazil, the US, Great Britain and Colombia – with the London show an exhibition affair that cannot be counted on for her professional record. Her last five wins as a boxer have come within three rounds.“When I don’t have an MMA fight scheduled, I train boxing,” she further stated. “I want to compete for a belt… this year.”
Once she concludes a career full of violence and bloodshed, the woman with a 78% success rate in MMA would like to move on from doing any more damage. If she gets her way, she will next fulfill a lifelong dream.
“I love animals, and I have always dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. And from 2027, this will be my 100% focus,” said Cris Cyborg.
This is far from a new development for the Brazilian, who operates what she affectionately calls her ‘mini zoo’. She recently added several more animals to her farm, including a pair of cows named Kayla and Ronda. They join a crew that isn’t limited to a dog whose name is Chael; cats named Laila, Holly and Sugar; a pig named Manny Porkiao and a parrot named Jose Aldo.
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