Sara Collins is set for a big fight at PFL Europe 4, which takes place on December 13. The PFL Featherweight Championship will be contested in the co-main event, with reigning/defending defending champion Cris Cyborg and title challenger Sara Collins entering the PFL Smart Cage on Saturday.
This has been a long time coming after she established herself as the number one contender more than a year ago and as she reflected on the long road that led to this 145-pound title bid, Collins said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yes, I asked for this fight a year ago. So it’s been a long time coming, but I have no excuses for not being prepared. I’ve been preparing for a year. So yeah. I’m excited for it to finally happen.”
In late 2024, the Australian fighter had a social media post detailing that her sole goal for 2025 was to win a world title in mixed martial arts. When asked how cool it was to get the opportunity to accomplish this goal at almost the last minute since this fight is this weekend, Collins said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yes. I was a little worried it wouldn’t happen this year, but it all worked out and it’s going to happen.”
The magnitude of the achievement here goes beyond a championship title, however, as Cris Cyborg looms in the eyes of many as perhaps the best women’s MMA fighter of all time. When asked, taking all factors into account, how much of a milestone achieving her ideal outcome here would be for her, Collins joked [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“I mean, it would be pretty cool, but I keep forgetting it’s for a title. You get a shiny belt at the end. I’m more focused on fighting Cris. Beating her is the goal and whatever good things come after that is cool. But yeah, right now I’m just focusing on fighting Cris Cyborg.”
Sara Collins: The moment she finally started to believe she would one day fight Cris Cyborg
The Brazilian powerhouse has been a figure who has played a huge role throughout Collins’ career and said she is now in a position to test skills against Cyborg. [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yeah, definitely. When I first started training MMA before I’d even had a fight, my coaches were like, ‘Come on, keep moving.’ We’re training to beat Cris Cyborg one day and I thought, haha, yeah, that’s never going to happen. But it turns out we’re here. And I manifested this by accident. Yes, I’m super excited.”
When asked if there was a moment of epiphany in rejecting the idea of her fighting one day Chris Cyborg to start thinking that a clash with Cyborg was actually a real possibility, Collins said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“I think that’s when I got booked to fight Leah [McCourt] Since she was supposed to fight Cyborg, I thought, if I can beat her, then I’ll definitely get the chance one day. So yeah, about when I got that fight. That it was kind of on the horizon in the back of my mind.
Collins describes the huge confidence boost she got from that emphatic performance with a first-round submission against a tough featherweight prospect inside the Bellator MMA cage in McCourt, joked [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yeah, definitely. I surprised myself. I think I surprised everyone else, but yeah, it definitely helped with my confidence.”
Collins’ coach is also a familiar face to more seasoned MMA fans, as ex-UFC vet ‘Judo’ Dan Kelly has had a major influence on her coaching. At the time, it was said that it was cool to see Kelly paying it forward to the next generation, and in part helping to guide the 35-year-old in writing her own story as a mixed martial artist, Collins said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yes. Well, Daniel was my judo coach before he became my MMA coach. I’ve been very lucky to have had him in my corner my entire career.”
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