Cris Cyborg lost the UFC featherweight strap to Amanda Nunes in a champion-versus-champion match at UFC 232 in December 2018. Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Cris Cyborg to defend Bellator title vs. Arlene Blencowe on Oct. 15

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Sep 11, 2020 4:03 PM ET

Cris Cyborg (22-2-0) is back.

Bellator MMA president Scott Coker confirmed while speaking on CBS Sports HQ on Friday that Cyborg will defend the promotion's featherweight title versus Australian Arlene Blencowe (13-7) in the main event of the Bellator 249 show held on Thursday, Oct. 15 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

As Brian Campbell of CBS Sports wrote, the announcement came as part of Bellator's move from Paramount Network to CBS Sports Network:

Here the first 4 @BellatorMMA events to be broadcast on @CBSSportsNet. The best news is NO MORE TAPE DELAY #Bellator #CBSSportsNetwork #MMA #MMATwitter pic.twitter.com/61yFlmAzQU
— Jason Hagholm (@JHagholm1) September 11, 2020

Cyborg, 35, lost the UFC featherweight strap to Amanda Nunes in a champion-versus-champion match at UFC 232 in December 2018. The Brazilian then defeated Felicia Spencer via unanimous decision the subsequent July before making the jump to Bellator, where she beat Julia Budd for that organization's featherweight championship last January.

It's expected Bellator will push Cyborg as the face of its women's divisions.

Blencowe, meanwhile, is on a three-fight win streak. She last defeated Leslie Smith via unanimous decision in November 2019.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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