George Lockhart believes Cris Cyborg can make bantamweight, but there’s a catch

The long-anticipated UFC debut of Cris Justino was a rousing success on Saturday at UFC 198. Not only did she dispatch Leslie Smith in under 90 seconds, but looked crisp in her striking and methodical in her attack. More importantly, while depleted on the scales making a pound less than the contracted 140-pound catchweight limit at 139, Cyborg did not appear overly drained and rehydrated with any reported issues.

According to George Lockhart, the nutritionist and hydration specialist to numerous MMA fighters including Cyborg, most fighters he works with float around a pound of their contracted weight. There was no intention to push her to 139 instead of 140, but rather, that occurred as a natural by-product of their cutting process.

The question going forward is what UFC will do to make use of her ability in the cage and marketability outside of it. Cyborg stated she’s happy to defend her Invicta featherweight title while taking catchweights in the UFC.

The more lucrative financial and …

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