Reigning Bellator Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg has taken a stand against Ali Abdelaziz’s recent comments, deeming them as crossing the line into potential sexual harassment.
Abdelaziz manages PFL’s leading combatant Kayla Harrison. She is slated to face off against Julia Budd at the highly anticipated 2023 PFL World Championship on November 24th in Washington, D.C.
This marks Harrison’s return to the cage since her defeat in the final PFL 2022 event last November against Larissa Pacheco. Additionally, she wasn’t a part of this year’s featherweight season.
Before Harrison’s comeback, Abdelaziz felt compelled to caution both her past and prospective opponents about the stringent drug testing protocols they would face.
Just last Wednesday, Abdelaziz tweeted on ‘X’:
“All these cheated women in PFL (Kayla Harrison) fought now USADA will be on you 24/7 you better stop now. Also the one coming from Bellator. Everyone has to give urine and blood samples. They will start look like females again not males.”
In response, Bellator Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg retorted:
“‘They will start look like females again not males’ – (Ali Abdelaziz) I don’t know who you are talking about but if I’m the ‘one coming from Bellator’, I hope you have that same energy when I see you in person. I will (not) tolerate sexual harassment.”
USADA recently joined forces with PFL and also serves as the official, independent anti-doping agency for the UFC.
As for the potential match-up between Cyborg and Harrison, no official plans have been announced yet.
Cris Cyborg (26-2 MMA) is scheduled to face off against Cat Zingano (14-4 MMA) at Bellator 300 on Saturday, October 7th. The event will take place at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.
At 38 years old, Cyborg boasts an impressive record of six consecutive victories in the cage. Her most recent win was against Arlene Blencowe (15-10 MMA) in April 2022 at Bellator 279.
Cyborg carries four consecutive wins into Bellator 300, her latest victory achieved against Leah McCourt (7-3 MMA) this past March at Bellator 293.