PFL and Cris Cyborg at odds after supershow announcement: ‘Please don’t speak of my contract publicly’

The start of Cris “Cyborg” Justino’s career in Professional Fighters League (PFL) is off to a rough start, if you can call it that.

PFL’s acquisition of Bellator in late 2023 was an exciting one for the mixed martial arts (MMA) world, but more so for the fighters from each roster. The reigning Bellator Featherweight champion and all-time great, Cyborg, however, has been countering claim after claim from her new boss, PFL Founder, Donn Davis, ever since the next fight talks began.

Due to the Bellator brand sticking around for what will be at least a month-by-month basis in 2024, PFL will kick off the year with its biggest event yet, pitting each brand’s champions against each other in Saudia Arabia next month (Sat., Feb. 24, 2024). Therefore, that means Cyborg would clash with two-time PFL titlist, Larissa Pacheco, next despite the most talked about match up being Cyborg vs. former champion, Kayla Harrison — neither of which is taking place at the upcoming show.

“Kayla, injury then Cyborg didn’t want to fight Pacheco,” Davis said on The MMA Hour. “There’s only one person here who was ready ... Pacheco. She was the sport in all of this. ‘Hey, I’ll let Kayla fight Cris. Hey, I’ll fight Cris. Hey, I’ll fight February 19. I’ll fight January 3.’ So, Larissa was the real champ in this.

“We would have liked to put some fight together to have the top women represented on here in the champs vs. champs format,” he continued. “Not possible. Injury, schedules, conflicts, opinions, but that fight’s gonna happen. The great news, that fight’s gonna happen. Kayla has one more fight on her contract, Cris under contract, four more fights, lifetime. That fight is gonna happen.”

From the sounds of Davis’ comments, PFL may be moving on from a potential Cyborg vs. Pacheco match up since it's missing the timing of the big event. Davis added that Cyborg vs. Harrison will now “probably” happen in the summertime and “probably” be the co-main event to Francis Ngannou’s promotional debut. He, of course, hopes to re-sign Harrison after whatever her next fight ends up being.

Meanwhile, Cyborg denies all of the claims made by Davis. Before she steps foot in the smartcage, if she ever does, Cyborg will have her third professional boxing match (2-0, 27-2, 1 no contest in MMA) when she faces the 36-year-old Kelsey Wickstrum (2-0) this weekend.

“I never turned down a fight against Pacheco @DonnDavisPFL,” Cyborg tweeted. “I also do not have 4 fights remaining on the deal you inherited.

“@srjsports please ask our partner @PFLMMA not to speak of my contract publicly as we are building our relationship,” she concluded. “This is also the first I’ve heard about a fight against @KaylaH in the summer.”