Bellator MMA champion, Cris Cyborg, earned her third-straight win in the promotion. Cyborg, who put forth a brutal beating on Leslie Smith throughout the fight, secured a fifth-round TKO to retain her title. ‘The Peacemaker’ showed insane levels of toughness right until the fight was about to reach the final horn.
With just nine seconds left on the clock, Cyborg secured her maiden round five finish as a professional fighter. Over the course of the fight, she dropped Smith frequently. Hence, the fight-ending sequence may not have come as a surprise.
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Cris Cyborg murked Leslie Smith! 💥pic.twitter.com/Ycmk0lwaBY
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) May 22, 2021
Regardless of the stoppage, Cris Cyborg would have cruised to one of the most comfortable wins of her career.
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Bellator 259: Cris Cyborg vs Leslie Smith
The early moments of the fight saw Cyborg start off with a high-pressure pace that she’s shown can be sustained for a long-time. At one point early on in the fight, she even landed a suplex, showing how comfortable she was against Smith. Cyborg stayed behind her jab and continued to pressure ‘The Peacemaker’, who didn’t have a proper answer.
🔥 @CrisCyborg drops @LeslieSmith_GF in Round 1️⃣
We are LIVE on @SHOSports with #Bellator259👇https://t.co/TbKTQ7lKsu pic.twitter.com/jDxc14jfIQ
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) May 22, 2021
💥 SUPLEX CITY!
Your new Mayor, @CrisCyborg.#Bellator259 is LIVE on @SHOSports. pic.twitter.com/sRMl2QswNv
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) May 22, 2021
As the fight played on, it became clear that things were not trending in a positive direction for Leslie Smith. Cris Cyborg’s output increased, and the power behind her shots also seemed to be picking up steam. Chiefly, the narrative quickly shifted to how tough Leslie Smith was to endure such a vicious beat down from the former UFC champion.
Cyborg had Smith hurt there #Bellator259 pic.twitter.com/ZEKtZuHC2y
— Hands like Nnganou (@likennganou) May 22, 2021
Cyborg is much ahead. But damn Leslie smith is tough @BellatorMMA
— Kaiboi Kamaka (@kaiboikamaka) May 22, 2021
If "heart" was a video game attribute, Leslie Smith would have a 100 rating in the category.
No quit from Smith, even with the deck stacked against her.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) May 22, 2021
Smith won’t go down! 🥴
— Chris Leben (@ChrisLebenMMA) May 22, 2021
Leslie Smith is so freakin’ tough. #Bellator259
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) May 22, 2021
By the end of the fight, Cris Cyborg, who had thrown around 337 strikes, landed roughly 174 of them. Smith only landed 38 strikes out of 172 thrown right up till the point Cyborg stopped her via TKO. What’s more, Cyborg was 7/7 on her takedowns. Hence, it was clear that she had left no doubts in the rematch.
Rematches can be tough. GDR surprisingly gave Nunes everything she could handle in their rematch despite being run over in the first fight. Smith has shown grit and much improved defense, but this is basically one-way traffic after almost 23 minutes.
— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) May 22, 2021
Cyborg earns the KO win with 10 seconds remaining in the fight!
Probably should have been stopped a few seconds earlier.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) May 22, 2021
Fans and fighters alike were excited to see Cyborg take on some of the heavy hitters in women’s MMA like Kayla Harrison. Moreover, given her dominant performances, a rematch against Amanda Nunes is also something on the cards.
The UFC needs to loan Amanda Nunes we have to see Nunes vs Cyborg again .
Kayla Harrison vs Cyborg works too .— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) May 22, 2021
Following her win over Smith, Cris Cyborg took to the mic and called out Cat Zingano for her next fight. What did you make of the Brazilian fighter’s win?
