Cris Cyborg endured five grueling rounds to defeat former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm on December 30.
But when it was desperately needed to come back soon, she didn't hesitate.
"This was a great opportunity to keep the momentum going after the victory over Holly and to quickly step back into the Octagon for the 'Cyborg Nation' to keep growing," the Brazilian said to the Los Angeles Times via email.
She even joked, "I'm going to have to carry my mouthguard in my bag if I keep fighting at this pace for the rest of 2018."
The Curitiba-born fighter (19-1) will make the second defense of her featherweight title against Russian Yana Kunitskaya (10-3) in the main event of UFC 222 in Las Vegas.
Kunitskaya, who enters as a heavy underdog, is the reigning bantamweight champion of Invicta. Cyborg revealed that she noticed her opponent weighed 156 pounds the first time she stepped on the scale before her most recent fight at 135 pounds, "this makes her a legitimate featherweight."
"I want to make this fight happen and give my fans the violent performance they already expect from me," said Cyborg. "The fans have seen me fight, they've seen me strike. Maybe they'll see my Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I want it to be the fight of the night."
UFC announced the fight last Wednesday following the leg injury suffered by featherweight champion Max Holloway. Los Angeles native Brian Ortega (13-0) will replace Holloway and fight Frankie Edgar in the co-main event.
"When [UFC] called me saying they needed a new main event, we saw this as an opportunity to show that Cris Cyborg can help the company and is willing to step up when UFC needs it," Cyborg expressed. "I hope this allows me to continue establishing my relationship with the company and leads to the type of promotion and exposure that I have been asking for."
The Kunitskaya fight will postpone the anticipated superfight between Cyborg and her compatriot, current UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Apparently, Nunes is in talks to defend her title soon against Raquel Pennington.
"I've told my manager that I'm willing to fight Nunes. I'm leaving everything in his hands to negotiate when and where the fight takes place," Cyborg stated. "If she wins in Brazil and I do it on March 3, I think it makes a lot of sense to have it on the huge card of Stipe Miocic-Daniel Cormier on July 7 in Las Vegas."
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