With Cris Cyborg's UFC Contract Nearly Up, Will Nunes Chase Away Another GOAT?

Call her the GOAT Hunter.

Two-and-a-half years ago, Amanda Nunes (18-4) effectively ended the UFC career of the first female fighter to wear the "greatest of all time" mantel. This Saturday at UFC 240, she'll try to make it two-for-two, despite the fact that, for all we know, she won't even be in the building.

All it took was 48 seconds for Nunes to torch the GOAT resume of Ronda Rousey (12-2). Rousey will be a legend forever, but any credible argument that she was the women's GOAT crumbled unceremoniously under the hands of a newer, better bantamweight champion.

But the GOAT Hunter wasn't done. In December, Nunes coexisted in a cage with Cris "Cyborg" Justino (20-2 [1]) for only three seconds longer than she had with Rousey.

When Nunes finished Cyborg, she captured the women's featherweight title and became just the third person to drape a UFC belt over each shoulder. It turns out she is more than a GOAT Hunter; she's something like a shape-shifter, now with horns and an adventurous palate where the golden mane once lived.

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That, in its way, is the backdrop for the co-main event of Saturday's UFC 240, going down from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Nunes looms in part because this is Cyborg's first fight since that emphatic dethronement. We already know how Rousey responded to her own whooping; the loss effectively ended her MMA career in a fog of shame and pro wrestling. Now it's Cyborg's turn to strike out post-Lioness.

This may manifest less in Cyborg's fighting than her fighting future. As you know, barring a summer vacation spent below some rocks, this bout—against the electric but relatively untested Felicia Spencer (7-0)—is the last on her existing UFC contract.

Cyborg, who as of Tuesday is a massive -600 favorite to handle business, said she's focused on Spencer for now but didn't mince words previously when asked about her future plans.

"I want to see other promoters, see how much value I have," she told broadcaster Ariel Helwani in June. "I think it's cool to see that before you can hear anything [about] that you don't have value. Let's see. Let's see what another promoter has to say."

In fact, Scott Coker, who heads up Bellator MMA and led the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion when Cyborg fought there, recently acknowledged the opportunity. Note the subtle overtures in his language.

"Listen, if you are a free agent, give us a call," he said. "This is a Viacom-backed company and we will take care of the fighters that move the needle for us. So, if she is free one day, please give us a call."

This is more than mere gamesmanship. Cyborg asked for a new contract months ago; a new contract never materialized, at least not publicly. Don't forget that Cyborg and the UFC, namely president Dana White, have had ups and downs in their relationship.

Not one to let a "she said" walk by without hurling a "he said" after it, White said Cyborg was testing the waters because she's "afraid" of a rematch with Nunes. 

"[Nunes] wants Cyborg," White told TMZ this week. "She wants the Cyborg fight. I don't think Cyborg wants that fight. I think it's pretty obvious why she wouldn't want that fight: it's not a good fight for her. It's a bad fight for her, and I get it."

"Negotiate with that," one can hear White's inner voice saying. It's not the first time White has made such claims, either about Cyborg or some other fighter who wasn't doing what he wanted them to do. For her part, Cyborg has denied the claim no one really believed in the first place, noting she believed White was trying to "damage my brand."

Either way, for better or worse or intentionally or otherwise, Nunes is now a part of this negotiation. As such, she's casting a massive shadow over Saturday. Who would have thought even a year ago that Cyborg could be in the shadow of any other fighter? And yet, here we are.

If Cyborg scores a knockout in classic Cyborg fashion, the rematch is instantly far more likely—though far from a lock. One imagines the UFC seeing dollar signs in this scenario and re-upping her accordingly.

However, in his career White has cut off many a nose to save his own face, and he may do so again here, leaving Cyborg outside the UFC embrace unless she, like, sends him a really nice card or something. The odds of that grow in direct proportion to the length and result of her bout with Spencer. It's probably not a stretch to think that a decision means Cyborg doesn't stay.

There is also no reason to believe Cyborg's statement was just posturing. One imagines she will indeed speak to other promotions. Bellator would be a key suitor but don't forget Professional Fighters League, the upstart and well-heeled promotion offering huge prize money and Kayla Harrison, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and easily the best non-Nunes fighter in the vicinity of Cyborg's natural fighting weight of 145 pounds (Harrison competes at 155 pounds, which could be more preferable for Justino).

So there are different possibilities here, but there is one certainty: If Spencer shocks the world, Cyborg will exit stage left for another promotion whether she wants to or not, another GOAT fallen under the claws of the greatest hunter her world has ever known. 

Scott Harris writes about MMA and other things for Bleacher Report.