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Thursday 14 May 2020 15:56, UK
As MMA superstar Cris Cyborg ponders her next move, speculation continues to mount.
One potential avenue being mentioned is a step into the boxing ring. The Brazilian trains in the 'sweet science', and her high profile would certainly attract huge attention if she were to make such a move.
Former UFC referee and current Bellator commentator John McCarthy was asked about the prospect of Cyborg moving into boxing, and if she could live with the likes of Katie Taylor.
"Cris has fought MMA forever now. Her first fight ever, she lost. Then she had a 21-fight win streak," McCarthy told Sky Sports.
"Cris is no doubt one of the greatest female fighters of all time. She is an incredible representative of the sport. She is such a good person outside of the cage and inside of the cage. She has done the kickboxing, done the Muay Thai, she has talked about boxing. She trains in boxing all the time.
"If that's what she wants to do, I'm 100 per cent behind her.
"For Cris to step into the realm of fighting a boxer like Katie Taylor, it's a tall order. That's a Conor McGregor trying to take on a Floyd Mayweather. That's usually not going to go good for you. The same as if Katie Taylor tried to step into a MMA ring. That's not going well for her against Cris Cyborg.
"If Cris is going to do boxing, obviously she's got to have a name she's going against, but I would say 'pick a name that's not quite Katie Taylor!'"
McCarthy added: "If you're looking for equality in women's sports, the combat world - especially in MMA. Boxing, not quite, it still doesn't have that level. MMA because women are able to use not only punching, they're able to get submissions... the fighting is the same," he said.
"People have no idea what's going to happen [in MMA]. You can get knockouts, by punches, elbows, kicks, knees, in MMA you can get all the submissions."
