Is Cris Cyborg retired following her win over Ketlen Vieira at PFL Tampa?
Cyborg has spent the last two years vowing to retire at the end of 2026. Her fight this past Saturday (Aug. 22, 2026) was promoted heavily as her MMA retirement fight. Yet when fight week finally rolled around, Cris started suggesting she might fight again, depending on how the wind blows after PFL and MVP merge in 2027.
If anyone deserves to retire, it’s Cyborg. She’s gone 30-2 over 21 years of fighting and is now 41 years of age.
But her career has been plagued by a lack of mega-fights. Most of the biggest names — Ronda Rousey, Kayla Harrison, Claressa Shields — were never willing to fight her. Harrison showed up in Tampa to watch Cyborg fight Vieira, and Cyborg didn’t hesitate to call her out following her win.
So maybe it’s a retirement unless one of these superfights comes together.
“I want to take a little break and see what’s going to happen,” Cyborg said at the PFL Tampa post-fight press conference. “All this 21 years of training and all these things that happened in my life, it’s a learning process. Even today in this fight I learned a lot of things. I’m always humble to learn, and I think that’s the key to stay a long time on top.”
“Twenty-one years I’m at the top, titles on the line and in the main event,” she continued. “I’m excited for what the future can be. I am a fighter now, but I have a lot of plans for the future at just 41 years old. I say the 41 now is the new 21 years old.”
“I don’t know if I’m going to have a fight again, I’m 41 years old,” she concluded. “I wanted 30 victories in my career. No woman did this. I’m very happy to have broken one more record.”
Cyborg’s PFL contract ended in Tampa, opening her up to whatever may come her way. If she does return, let’s hope it’s for a big one. Give us Ronda Rousey. Give us Kayla Harrison. Give us an Amanda Nunes rematch. Otherwise, what’s the point? Cyborg has nothing else to prove.
