Cyborg refuses to confirm retirement as PFL contract ends and free agency beckons

Cris Cyborg will not guarantee Saturday’s PFL Tampa headliner against Ketlen Vieira is her last MMA fight, despite the bout being promoted as her retirement farewell and marking the end of her current PFL contract.

The 41-year-old Brazilian enters the cage chasing her 30th professional victory — an all-time record in women’s MMA — but told MMA Fighting she plans to sit down with her team after the fight before making any decision about her future.

“It could be my last fight,” Cyborg said. “You never know. It could be my last fight. Maybe the fight ends and I say, ‘That’s it.’ When you no longer have that fire inside you, then you stop. You have to stop at the right time. But I do know that this is the last fight on my PFL contract. After this fight, I want to sit down with my team and figure out what I want to do.”

Cyborg has remained active in boxing over the past few years, adding ring wins and claiming the WIBA world super welterweight title in March, a path she says was partly driven by PFL not offering her more MMA matchups. With the contract now expiring, free agency opens a range of options she described as “interesting.”

The fighter has long invested in her physical longevity, undergoing stem cell treatments and purchasing a hyperbaric chamber for home recovery. She says that commitment to her body is precisely why she cannot rule out continuing at the highest level.

“I’ve been preparing myself for this,” she said. “For the past three years, I’ve been thinking, ‘This could be my last fight.’ Especially because I’m 41 years old. I’ve been doing everything I can to keep fighting at a high level and perform at my best when I compete.”

Beaten only once in MMA since a debut loss 21 years ago, Cyborg has outlined several post-fighting ambitions — including youth development projects and a long-held interest in veterinary medicine, inspired by the private animal sanctuary she keeps at her California home. But she insists those plans will wait until the fire inside her is genuinely extinguished.

“I love what I do,” she said. “Waking up in the morning to train for a fight is still no sacrifice. I want to do something that I love after my fighting career, but right now I’m focused on this next fight.”