Cris Cyborg enters an MMA cage for the final time when she faces off with longtime UFC veteran Ketlen Vieira in the main event of PFL Tampa on Aug. 22, the promotion announced Wednesday.
PFL Tampa takes place at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla. The company has yet to add other bouts to the line-up.
Cyborg (29-2, 1 no-contest) is seeking the 30th professional victory of her MMA career in her retirement bout. A former champion in UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce and Invicta FC, Cyborg claimed
the vacant PFL featherweight belt in her most recent appearance in December, tapping out previously unbeaten Sara Collins with a rear-naked choke after beating Larissa Pacheco in her promotional debut.
The legendary Brazilian has beaten the who’s who of the sport across two decades, a list that includes former UFC champion Holly Holm, and won eight in a row under the Bellator and PFL banners since her final octagon appearance in 2019. On top of that, Cyborg went undefeated in the boxing ring to build a professional record of 6-0, capped off by a WIBA title victory over Paulina Cardona in March.
Vieira (16-5) completed her UFC contract in May with a win over Jacqueline Cavalcanti and wasn’t offered a new deal. She parted ways with the promotion with a promotional record of 10-5, beating the likes of Holly Holm, Miesha Tate, Cat Zingano and Sara McMann, and having gone the distance versus future UFC champion Kayla Harrison.
“PFL Tampa will be a special event as it hosts the retirement fight for our champion, Cris Cyborg,” PFL CEO John Martin stated in a release. “She is a pioneer of not just women’s MMA, but mixed martial arts as a whole, and it has been a privilege for PFL to have her as a deserving champion.
“Now she headlines one final time in the PFL cage, and will stand across from a proven challenger in Ketlen Vieira, who has one mission: ruin the goodbye and take the title. This is the conclusion to the storied career of Cyborg, and I can’t wait to be there cageside to witness her create MMA history for the last time.”
