UFC 219: Cyborg defeats Holm; goes the distance for the first time since 2008

Holly Holm (11-4) became the first fighter in history to take Cris Cyborg (19-1) the full distance in a world title fight, but it just wouldn’t be enough. 

Cyborg would defeat Holm via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) to retain her UFC women’s featherweight championship in a fight where she would outstrike her opponent 118-44. Cyborg found her stride as the fight went long, landing 42 out of 63 total strikes in the fifth and final round, making Holm, who landed 21 out of 71,  miss repeatedly. This marked the first time that Cyborg went the distance in a fight since 2008 and the very first time she went the distance in a five round fight.

The question now is, who’s next for Cyborg? The Brazilian ‘Berzerker’ would call out Megan Anderson (8-2), the former Invicta FC champion who has yet to compete in the UFC. There’s simply nobody on the Cyborg level in the game today and while a KO machine like Anderson always has that “puncher’s chance,” I don’t believe we’ve seen the woman who will beat Cyborg in a mixed martial arts fight quite yet. And we never may.

stats via FightMetric

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images