Like Conor McGregor, 'Cyborg' is ready to step in the boxing ring

If nobody wants to fight Cris “Cyborg” Justino in the Octagon, the UFC’s current women’s featherweight champion will seek a fight in a boxing ring.

Cyborg was granted a professional boxing license in the state of California and has plans to make her boxing debut in 2018, as long as the UFC allows it.

“If the girls from MMA don’t want to accept the fights, let the girls of boxing know #cyborgnation isn’t scared of a challenge,” Justino said while confirming that she received her boxing license on Instagram.

Cyborg won the women’s featherweight title back in July against Tonya Evinger, but has had difficult finding opponents willing to step into the cage with her. She has been undefeated since losing her professional MMA debut back in 2005. Recognized as the most feared female striker in all of MMA, Cyborg has finished 16 of her 20 opponents and hasn’t allowed a fight to reach the judges’ scorecards since 2008.

She was recently seen sparring with two-time boxing Olympic gold medalist and current WBC female super middleweight champion Claressa Shields. She’s hoping to land a fight with former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm on Dec. 30, but that has yet to be confirmed by the UFC.

“She wants to professionally box in 2018, while of course taking into consideration how Zuffa [UFC’s parent company] feels about it. Any decision on a boxing match would be made with that in mind,” George Prajin, Cyborg’s manager, told ESPN.

Cyborg’s current contract with the UFC is set to expire in October but she will not become an unrestricted free agent as the UFC has the right to a one-year negotiating window. If or how that will affect her stepping into a boxing ring has yet to be seen but Cyborg will certainly keep her options open when it comes to competing in the squared circle.