PFL Tampa results: Cris Cyborg retains title with 30th career win

Cris Cyborg secured the 30th victory of her legendary MMA career by defeating Ketlen Vieira at PFL Tampa, but the reigning women's featherweight champion remains uncertain about whether she will step into the cage again.

Cyborg successfully defended her PFL women's featherweight title in the main event at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida, earning a unanimous decision after five competitive rounds.

The judges scored the fight 49-46, 48-47 and 49-46 in favor of Cyborg, who extended her MMA winning streak to 10 fights.

The bout went ahead despite Vieira badly missing weight, which made her ineligible to win the featherweight championship even if she had defeated Cyborg.

Vieira pushes Cyborg throughout five-round battle

Vieira refused to make life easy for the champion and applied pressure from the opening bell until the final seconds of the fight.

She frequently forced Cyborg to circle on the outside, but the champion's higher volume and variety of attacks helped her win enough rounds on the judges' scorecards.

Vieira landed arguably the most damaging strike of the fight late in the second round, connecting with a clean punch that visibly buckled Cyborg.

The champion recovered and continued to pick her shots from range, attacking with leg kicks, body punches and powerful combinations to the head.

Cyborg also mixed takedowns into her offense, although Vieira enjoyed success in the grappling exchanges. She managed to reverse positions on the ground several times, move into top position and land ground-and-pound.

Cyborg survives difficult final round

Cyborg increased the pressure in the fifth round as she looked to put an exclamation point on her performance, but Vieira again demonstrated her grappling ability.

After reversing a takedown attempt, Vieira ended up on top and controlled the position for a significant portion of the round.

Cyborg eventually created enough space to kick Vieira away and get back to her feet.

Both fighters then abandoned caution in the closing moments, trading heavy punches in an intense final exchange before the horn sounded.

All three judges ultimately sided with Cyborg, allowing her to retain the championship and avoiding a potentially complicated title situation following Vieira's failure to make weight.

Will Cris Cyborg fight again?

Despite remaining PFL champion, Cyborg's future is far from certain.

The fight against Vieira was the final bout on her current PFL contract, and the 41-year-old had repeatedly discussed the possibility of retiring from MMA after reaching 30 professional victories.

However, Cyborg did not announce her retirement following the fight.

Instead, she left the door open for another appearance and even called out UFC women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, who was in attendance in Tampa.

A fight between Cyborg and Harrison has long been discussed as one of the biggest potential matchups in women's combat sports.

Whether it can finally become a reality remains uncertain, but Cyborg's post-fight comments suggest she has not completely closed the door on extending her remarkable career.

If the victory over Vieira does prove to be her final MMA appearance, Cyborg would walk away from the sport on a 10-fight winning streak and after successfully completing her first defense of the PFL women's featherweight championship.

Vieira's inconsistent run continues

For Vieira, the defeat continued a frustrating period in which she has alternated wins and losses.

Her most recent consecutive victories came against former UFC champions Miesha Tate and Holly Holm in 2021 and 2022.

Despite pushing Cyborg through all five rounds, Vieira was unable to claim what would have been the biggest victory of her career.

Full PFL Tampa results

Cris Cyborg def. Ketlen Vieira via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 49-46) – women's featherweight title

Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Tracy Reeder via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:38

Sabrinna de Sousa def. Taila Santos via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Luke Trainer def. Roland Dunlap via TKO (front kick, punches) – Round 2, 2:52

Nkosi Ndebele def. Marcirley Alves via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Daniel Marcos def. Magomed Magomedov via TKO (referee stoppage due to injury) – Round 3, 0:11

Javid Basharat def. Movsar Ibragimov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Dakota Bush def. Morquez Forest via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Natan Schulte def. Artur Zaynukov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Gino Van Steenis def. Robert Watley via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Eoin Sheridan def. James Vake via knockout (knee) – Round 1, 4:09