PFL Tampa ended the same way most of Cris Cyborg’s fights have throughout her decorated MMA career: with the long-reigning champion raising her hands. After a close five-round duel against Ketlen Vieira, Cyborg earned the 30th victory of his MMA career via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 49-46) to successfully defend his PFL featherweight title on Saturday at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa. Florida.AdvertisementCyborg (30-2, 1 NC) faced Vieira’s pressure game early, which remained consistent throughout their 25 minutes together. Body shots were a major weapon that Cyborg sought to utilize in an effort to slow down his overweight opponent, who weighed in at 152 pounds for their 145-pound featherweight title clash. Due to Vieira’s serious weight error, the would-be challenger was unable to claim the title even if she pulled off the upset, but Vieira still did well and found pockets of momentum, showing solid counterpunching work at the end of the first round. The second round was more of the same, but ended with a great moment for Vieira (16-6). With Cyborg tied firmly to the cage, solid uppercuts landed that appeared to briefly stagger the champion. While it wasn’t enough to steal the round, it showed that Vieira was finding some offensive rhythm. That momentum carried into the middle round, when Cyborg scored a takedown with a low kick out of the gate, but Vieira eventually found solid counters to cut off Cyborg’s movement. However, big knees and uppercuts for the champion kept her in control, as Cyborg simply out-bulked Vieira. The championship rounds were where things got more interesting. Vieira beat them both at 10-9 on the Uncrowned scorecards, getting a good offensive hold and maintaining his strong forward pressure to land short counter hooks. It was very much a stand-up boxing effort by Vieira, which paid off thanks to his pressure and timing. However, it was too little too late to pull off the upset. There was a lot of talk beforehand about whether or not Saturday would be Cyborg’s last MMA fight. When he spoke later in the cage, Cyborg, 41, was noncommittal about hanging up his gloves. He even went so far as to target two specific opponents. “I’m ready for anyone,” Cyborg said. “I am not a free agent. I am resting again. Eight years undefeated. I am ready for anyone. At any time, at any weight. Advertising”[Boxing champion] Claressa Shields, the girl is afraid to fight me. You are afraid. [Vieira] He has more heart than you. … Eat less. [Let’s fight at] 160 [pounds]. Come on.” However, Shields, Uncrowned’s No. 1 women’s pound-for-pound boxer, wasn’t the only one to get a call from Cyborg. Former two-time PFL champion and current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison was on hand Saturday to watch her teammates compete. “Kayla Harrison is here. Come here!” Cyborg said. “Hi, Kayla. You’ve been running for so long. You ran away from the PFL and now you come to see my fight. I’m ready for you. I hope you heal your neck and challenge Amanda Nunes, and I’m here.” Vieira (16-6) is left in a bit of a no man’s land with the loss. The former UFC bantamweight contender lost her PFL debut after moving up in weight and then losing a lot of weight. Since her back-to-back wins over former UFC champions Holly Holm and Miesha Tate, Vieira has alternated wins and losses in her last seven fights. In the event Co-feature, lightweight contender Gadzhi Rabadanov (28-5-2) crushed Tracy Reeder (12-6) with a stoppage in Round 1. A mistimed takedown miss led to Reeder’s quick demise, as he got trapped underneath his opponent to take heavy blows. The highlights of the card came earlier in the night, starting with the first fight, Ireland’s Eoin Sheridan landed a nasty knee. to silence James. Vake, before Luke Trainer scored a front kick knockout on Roland Dunlap. See full PFL Tampa results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned’s play-by-play from the championship fight def. Tracy Reeder via TKO (punches) at 4:38 of R1 | See finale Women’s Flyweight: Sabrinna de Sousa def. (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) Light Heavyweight: Luke Trainer def. lbs.): Nkosi Ndebele defeated Marcirley Alves via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28) Bantamweight: Daniel Marcos defeated Movsar Ibragimov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Weight Lightweight: Dakota Bush defeated Morquez Forest via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Lightweight: Natan Schulte defeated Artur Zaynukov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) Lightweight: Gino van Steenis defeated Robert Watley (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Welterweight: Eoin Sheridan defeated James Vake by KO (knee) at 4:09 R1 See ending Live coverage ended 67 updates Sunday, August 23, 2026 03:32 AM UTCDrake Riggs Sunday, August 23, 2026 03:27 AM UTCDrake August 23, 2026 03:25 am UTCDrake. Riggsdom, August 23, 2026 03:23 am UTCDrake Riggsdom, August 23, 2026 03:22 am UTCDrake RiggsCyborg starts with a pair of chopping outside leg kicks Vieira instantly presses to land strikes before being taken down with a double explosion Vieira gets to her knees with Cyborg’s back to the side. Vieira stands with Cyborg maintaining control. from the back, Vieira turns to do a pure body block move to the guard, Cyborg tries his best to kick Vieira, but gets caught on the bottom in guard, as Vieira tries to transition to other positions. Cyborg starts to throw wild hooks.) Sunday, August 23, 2026, 03:15 AM UTCDrake RiggsCyborg kicks the body before the leg, a good right hand connects for Vieira, a good combo comes out of Vieira before a left hook kicks her, then a big right hand. It’s been mostly a boxing match with regards to Vieira’s offense. She keeps the pressure and lands the right hand. The champion is bleeding around her left eye! Vieira (39-37 Cyborg.) Sunday, August 23, 2026 03:09 AM UTCDrake RiggsCyborg takes a kick to start the round and immediately finds a takedown. Cyborg defends himself from an armbar but stays on guard, using an opener as Cyborg gets up, only to try to swing past the legs and throw punches off the cage before getting to his feet. A front kick sneaks in for Cyborg. antes de que ella reciba algunos golpes fuertes. Vieira continúa empujando al campeón hacia abajo. ¡Ahora está balanceándose para matar! low blow. Action resumes after a brief pause. Cyborg goes back to jabbing the body. Vieira gets snagged by a long left hand. Vieira continues to press forward, but takes an inside low kick and a body jab. She walks right into massive knees and hooks. Wow. She took them like nothing, as they battle for position. Cyborg’s left straight lands before a right hook. She goes back to the body shots. Time expires.10-9 Cyborg. (30-27 Cyborg.) Sunday, August 23, 2026, 03:02 AM UTCDrake RiggsCyborg kicks low to start the middle round. She throws a straight left to Vieira’s body. This time, a wide right hook from Vieira takes a hard hook to the body. chops to the outside leg of Vieira. A nice check hook lands again for Vieira. Vieira’s jab lands clean. The left hook from Cyborg finds the mark again — all while Cyborg is backed up. Cyborg lands a straight left to the body. A hard calf kick completely slows Vieira. Cyborg continues to go to the body well. Vieira absorbs a very hard left, then a big right hand! Vieira conecta con un par de ganchos. ¡Vaya! Vieira ganó ese intercambio, lo which led to a clinch. Cyborg landed a good knee to close the round. The most important shots possibly came from Vieira 10-9 Cyborg (20-18). Vieira gets touched by a counter left when seeking a right down the middle. A nice inside low kick lands for Cyborg. The right hand of Cyborg lands again. punches. Vieira absorbs some body kicks. Cyborg lands the body jab. A check hook lands on Vieira. 2026 02:33 am UTCDrake RiggsDespite Vieira missing weight by seven pounds, the fight will continue for five rounds regardless of the result RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – OCTOBER 19: Cris Cyborg exits before the women’s featherweight world title fight between Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco as part of the PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants card at Kingdom Arena on. October 19, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images) (Abdullah Ahmed via Getty Images) Sunday, August 23, 2026 02:27 AM UTCDrake RiggsSun, August 23, 2026 02:23 AM UTCDrake Riggsdom, August 23, 2026 02:22 AM UTCDrake. RiggsA mistimed takedown by Reeder put him underneath Rabadanov, who slowly worked up to punch him for a brutal first-round TKO job 23, 2026 02:15 AM UTCDrake Riggsdom, Aug 23, 2026 02:15 AM UTCDrake Riggsdom, Aug 23, 2026 02:09 AM. UTCDrake RiggsThere are only two fights left, folks, one more lightweight clash before the veteran featherweight champion looks to defend against a final foe in the division, making it a great place for Reeder to surprise the masses SIOUX FALLS, SD – MAY 2: Gadzhi Rabadanov looks on before fighting Aleksandr Chizov during the PFL Sioux Falls at the Sanford Pentagon on the 2nd. May 2026 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) (Cooper Neill via Getty Images) Sunday, August 23, 2026. 02:05 am UTCDrake RiggsSun, August 23, 2026 02:03 am UTCDrake Riggs
