Ketlen Vieira’s size was not enough to make up for Cris Cyborg’s superiority inside the cage.
The pair had a competitive clash in the main event of Saturday’s PFL Tampa event inside the Benchmark International Arena.
Cyborg was expected to be retiring, but she walked back the decision to hang up her gloves a few weeks out from the card, despite it being advertised as her farewell.
Nevertheless, while she may not have been the final opponent in Cyborg’s career, Vieira will still go down as one of the last to share the cage with the all-time legend. And she was proud of her efforts on August 22.
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Ketlen Vieira reacts after losing to MMA legend Cris Cyborg at PFL Tampa
Cyborg would have lost the PFL women’s featherweight title if she did not have her hand raised, but Vieira would not have gone home with it.
The former top-five UFC bantamweight contender was ineligible to win the belt after an indiscretion on the scale on Friday. Vieira missed weight by seven pounds for the Cyborg fight, which marked her first outing since not having her contract renewed with MMA’s leading promotion.
Whether or not that weight advantage helped Vieira push Cyborg more than most will be debated, but it still wasn’t enough for her in the five-round PFL Tampa headliner.
Vieira is still proud of the performance she put in and described it as a learning experience in her first post-fight statement on social media.
“Yesterday I experienced one of those moments that will forever be marked in my history,” Vieira wrote on Instagram.
“Victory didn’t come as a result, but I came out of this fight with my head held high and very proud of the performance I delivered.
“I stepped into that cage to do my best. I faced every second with courage, heart and determination. It was a great fight, a real battle, and I know that I have shown once again who I am and how much I am willing to fight for my dreams.
“The result doesn’t always translate into everything that happened within a struggle,” she continued. “There are defeats that teach, strengthen, and show how much we have evolved. I felt this yesterday.
“I’m coming out even stronger, more experienced and for sure I still have a lot of history to write.”
Vieira has complained about her UFC release, which came after she had cemented her spot inside the top five at 135 pounds with a victory over Jacqueline Cavalcanti this past May.
The promotion appeared somewhat vindicated when the Brazilian missed weight by an extremely egregious amount on Friday.
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