Cris Cyborg just handled business at PFL Tampa, but apparently the old Amanda Nunes wound still itches. The former UFC featherweight champion jumped back into that beef this week, claiming Nunes refused to give her a rematch for two years after their 2018 demolition job at UFC 232.
The claim came from Cyborg’s own X account on Aug. 25, and it was not wrapped in any mystery. She pointed straight at Nunes, the old UFC contract timeline, and the Felicia Spencer fight that ended Cyborg’s run with the promotion.
“I remember her winning, then refusing a rematch for 2 years as she waited for me to finish my UFC contract with a win over Felicia Spencer and sign with a new promotion before she would agree to return to 145. I also remember her losing to Zingano, and Peña in the UFC.”
🤷🏽♀️ I remember her winning, then refusing a rematch for 2 years as she waited for me to finish my ufc contract with a win over Felicia Spencer and sign with a new promotion before she would agree to return to 145.
I also remember her losing to Zingano, and Pena in the ufc
— CrisCy₿org.com 19X World Champ (@criscyborg) August 25, 2026
That is Cyborg’s version of the history, and it hits the old bruise directly. Nunes shocked Cyborg in 51 seconds at UFC 232 in December 2018, taking the featherweight belt and becoming a two-division UFC champion. It was one of those fights where everybody showed up expecting a war and got a lightning strike instead.
Cyborg Reopens The Nunes Rematch Argument
Cyborg fought once more in the UFC after that, beating Felicia Spencer by unanimous decision at UFC 240 in July 2019. Then she left the company and eventually built another championship chapter outside the Octagon. Nunes, meanwhile, later defended the 145-pound belt against Spencer at UFC 250 in June 2020, winning a lopsided decision.
That timeline is why Cyborg’s jab still has teeth. She has long argued that the rematch should have happened while both women were still under the UFC roof, because the first fight was too quick and too violent to answer every question. Nunes’ win was clean as a whistle, but in fight sports, a 51-second detonation almost always leaves the losing side screaming for a second roll of the dice.
The rivalry also refuses to stay buried because both women keep orbiting big names. Cyborg has been stirring up old grudges after reopening the Ronda Rousey feud at PFL Tampa, while Nunes has been tied to the crowded UFC title scene around Kayla Harrison and American Top Team. Different lanes now, same old heavyweight-sized drama at women’s featherweight and bantamweight.
Cyborg also brought up Nunes’ losses to Cat Zingano and Julianna Pena, which is very much the kind of extra sauce you add when you are not just discussing history, you are trying to reopen court. Nunes still owns the most important fact in the file, though. She knocked Cyborg out, took the belt, and changed the GOAT debate in under a minute.
Still, Cyborg’s point is not about who won the first fight. It is about whether the sequel got dodged while it still mattered most. That argument has been hanging around since 2019, and with Cyborg still winning belts and calling for big-money fights, she clearly is not letting the Nunes chapter close quietly.
