After leaving her mark in UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, and Invicta, Cris Cyborg has turned her attention to boxing.

Tonight, Cyborg faces Kelsey Wickstrum at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California. The six-round bout will precede the main event bout between unbeaten welterweight Jesus Resendiz and Rosekie Cristobal.

Both fights will stream live on spectationsports.com (10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT).

At Thursday’s weigh-in, Cyborg weighed in at 154.8 pounds. Wickstrum came in at 152.8 pounds.

Cyborg (1-0), who is originally from Curitiba, Brazil and now resides in Huntington Beach, California, last fought on October 7 in a mixed martial arts fight, stopping Cat Zingano in the first round on a Bellator 300 card in nearby San Diego.

The 38-year-old took some time off after the win over Zingano, but she has now joined forces with trainer Jose Benavidez, Sr., the father and trainer of unbeaten super middleweight contender David Benavidez. Cyborg was able to work on all facets of boxing, benefiting from the mitt work with the elder Benavidez.

“I was able to put in almost eight weeks of training for this fight,” Cyborg told The Ring on Wednesday night. “It was an amazing experience working with Jose Benavidez. This was after his son David fought, so he dedicated his time to me.

“He didn’t want to change me and my fighting style. We worked to improve on fighting from distance, defense, and my footwork. I learned a lot, especially with setting up punches. They can set up jabs, or I could throw hard punches to the head and body. I was able to spar, which helped reinforce what I learned.”

Cyborg has one boxing fight under her belt, which took place in December 2022 on the undercard of the Terence Crawford-David Avanesyan fight. Cyborg dropped Gabrielle Holloway once en route to a one-sided decision victory.

The 36-year-old Wickstrum, who resides in Redding, California, holds a 2-0, 1 KO record. Wickstrum’s last fight took place on April 29, stopping Sudana Moore in the third round.

Cyborg hopes to make a statement at the expense of Wickstrum.

“I don’t know a whole lot about her,” said Cyborg, who was born Cristiane Venancio Justino. “I just know she is unbeaten and ranked (by a sanctioning body). I’m just focused on what I’m capable of doing. I trained hard and I want to show what I learned and what I can do in the boxing ring. I’m willing to go to war, if I have to, but I also want to show that fights can be won by technique and through boxing ability.”

Cyborg could go back to mixed martial arts, but has reiterated that she is taking boxing seriously and hopes to fight the top fighters in the division at 154 or 160 pounds.

One fighter she mentioned stepping in the ring against, or in a cage, is Claressa Shields, who recently announced she will face Kelsey DeSantis on a Professional Fighters League card on February 24.

Cyborg believes she will have the advantage against Shields, whether a fight takes place in a boxing ring or cage.

“I want to make the biggest fights for the fans, and one fight that will sell where we will all get paid is against Claressa,” said Cyborg. “I’ve learned the nuances of grappling, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. It’s harder to do what Claressa is doing, having to learn what I already know, now that she is doing MMA. I think because I did all that, striking and boxing has come easier for me.

“I love challenges and it would be a dream to fight her. Whether in boxing or in a cage, I’ll fight her, but I have to take care of business (against Wickstrum tonight).”

Matt McGovern will promote tonight’s World Fighting Championship 163 card.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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