Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino, Amanda Nunes to meet at UFC 232 in Las Vegas

By Adam Hill

Las Vegas Review-Journal

6 years ago

Cris "Cyborg" Justino, left, connects with a left hook against Yana Kunitskaya during their featherweight championship mixed martial arts bout at UFC 222 on Saturday, March 3, 2018, in Las Vegas. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Cris "Cyborg" Justino celebrates after defending her featherweight title against Yana Kunitskaya, in the first round of a mixed martial arts bout at UFC 222 on Saturday, March 3, 2018, in Las Vegas. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Amanda Nunes, top, from Brazil, fights Raquel Pennington, from the United States, during their UFC women’s bantamweight mixed martial arts bout in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, early Sunday, May 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Amanda Nunes, right, from Brazil, fights Raquel Pennington, from the United States, during their UFC women’s bantamweight mixed martial arts bout in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, early Sunday, May 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Wearing the champion’s belt, Amanda Nunes, from Brazil, embraces Raquel Pennington, from the United States, after their UFC women’s bantamweight mixed martial arts bout in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, early Sunday, May 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The longest reigning current female champions in the UFC will square off in Las Vegas this year.

Featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino, long considered the top pound-for-pound female in the organization, will defend her title against bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes at UFC 232 on Dec. 29 at T-Mobile Arena.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the bout to ESPN on Wednesday.

Justino, who is 5-0 in the UFC and has won 20 straight fights since dropping her professional debut in 2005, captured the 145-pound belt with a knockout of Tonya Evinger in July 2017 and has successfully defended it twice.

Nunes, who like Justino is a native of Brazil who now lives and trains in the United States, won the 135-pound title in July 2016 with a victory over Miesha Tate. Nunes’ three title defenses include a win over former champ Ronda Rousey in December 2016.

The bout has been discussed for almost a year, and Justino was hoping to make it happen sooner than the UFC’s traditional year-end pay-per-view card. She last fought in March.

Nunes, who fought in May, has pushed for more time to properly prepare to move up a division. She last competed at featherweight in 2011, two years before she entered the UFC.

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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.