Sara Collins is the most inexperienced MMA opponent Cris Cyborg has fought in over a decade, entering Saturday’s PFL Lyon event with only six pro bouts under her belt, but the undefeated Australian feels she’s destined to shock the world.
Cyborg won her first MMA title 10 years before Collins first entered a MMA bout, collecting the Strikeforce belt and then claiming others in Invicta FC, UFC, Bellator and PFL. Collins earned her chance at gold after a 3-0 Bellator run with two submissions and says “it’s crazy” she’s now challenging the legend from Brazil.
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“I honestly didn’t think it would ever happen when I first started my MMA career,” Collins told MMA Fighting. “Obviously that was always the goal, to fight the best in your division and she’s been the best since I started MMA, so now that we’re here and I get this opportunity, it’s really cool.”
Collins was inspired to transition from judo to MMA after watching her coach Dan Kelly do the same and eventually join the UFC. More inspiration came in the form of seeing fellow judoka Ronda Rousey enter their gym in Australia the week of her UFC 193 clash with Holly Holm in Australia in 2015.
When she decided to compete in MMA, Collins watched “a lot of videos of Rousey to see what she was doing.” Cyborg vs. Rousey is one of the most infamous fights that never came to fruition and Collins joked that maybe it’s her responsibility to serve as a Rousey proxy.
“That’s a lot of pressure,” Collins laughed when asked if she feels like representing not only judo but also Rousey in this match. “And she didn’t get to fight Kayla [Harrison] either so I feel like there’s a lot of judo people on her list that she could have fought. I guess here I am stepping up for the judo people [laughs].”
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The unbeaten Australia said “it would be really cool” to be the first to submit Cyborg in MMA since her pro debut back in 2005, and “that’s the goal” Saturday in France.
“If you haven’t done judo since you’re a kid, it’s very hard to prepare to fight against someone who does judo,” Collins said. “We just feel things different, move different. I think she’s going to have a hard time preparing for my judo throws.”
Cyborg has teased retirement plans are near after more than 20 years in professional MMA, plus matches in boxing, Muay Thai and grappling, but Collins believes an upset in Lyon could change that.
“I don’t know what’s going through her head,” Collins said. “I hope if I beat her, then we can rematch in Australia. I hope [she doesn’t retire]. That’s always been the goal. I always thought if I beat her, then of course she deserves a rematch. That’s what I want. PFL is meant to come to Australia next year, so I’m hoping that we can fight at home.”
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PFL has frame the match so that Collins entering the cage and beating Cyborg would “shock the world”, and the challenger doesn’t feel the narrative diminishes her.
“I think it’s totally fair,” Collins said. “I’ve only had seven fights. I think I’ve had less than one hour in the cage, where she’s probably had like 20 hours, so she’s definitely got so much more experience than I do. And I think I will shock everyone, including myself, if I can go out there and finish her.”
