‘Cyborg’ Justino to Make UFC Debut Against Leslie Smith at UFC 198

Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino will make her long awaited UFC debut against Leslie Smith at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brazil. UFC officials announced the matchup Monday morning.

The bout will take place at a 140-pound catchweight.

Cyborg (15-1, 1 NC), also the former Strikeforce & Elite XC champion, will enter this bout having finished all five Invicta opponents by way of knockout. In her most recent outing, the Brazilian walked away with a first round finish over Daria Ibragimova in January. Prior to this win, Cybrog stopped Fait Van Duin just 45-seconds into Invicta FC 13 title fight. This bested her previous 46-second TKO vin over Charmaine Tweet. To date, 13 of her 15 career wins have ended in (T)KO.

Smith (8-6-1), a former Invicta flyweight contender, is coming off decision win over Rin Nakai at UFC Fight Nigh 85 earlier this month. This marked her first appearance inside the Octagon since fans saw her ear explode against Jessie Eye at UFC 180 in November 2014. As a result, the cage side doctor determined Smith was unfit to continue, giving Eye the second round TKO win. Prior to this setback, “The Peacemaker” scored a violent first round knockout win over Jessamyn Duke at UFC Fight Night 45.

UFC 198 takes place May 14 at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil. The main event will feature a heavyweight title fight between reigning champ Fabricio Werdum and top contender Stipe Miocic.

Here is how the rest of the card looks:

• (c) Fabricio Werdum vs. Stipe Miocic – for UFC heavyweight title
• Vitor Belfort vs. Ronaldo Souza
• Anderson Silva vs. Uriah Hall
• Matt Brown vs. Demian Maia
• Cyborg Justino vs. Leslie Smith
• Corey Anderson vs. Mauricio Rua
• Patrick Cummins vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
• Warlley Alves vs. Bryan Barberena
• Yancy Medeiros vs. Francisco Trinaldo
• Nate Marquardt vs. Thiago Santos
• Sergio Moraes vs. Kamaru Usman
• Renato Moicano vs. Zubaira Tukhugov

(c) – champion