Cris Cyborg walked into the PFL Tampa main event holding a title she didn’t have to defend. She walked out with it still hers, and with the number she says no woman in mixed martial arts had ever reached.

Ketlen “Fenomeno” Vieira missed weight, which handed Cyborg a clean route to keeping the belt at zero risk. The champion turned it down and insisted the title stay on the line.

“I put the belt on the line even though she didn’t make weight because I wanted to fight for the title,” Cyborg said. She added that she wanted to be champion one more time and claim her 30th win.

Cyborg vs. Vieira at PFL Tampa

Cyborg dictated the pace through the opening two rounds against her fellow Brazilian. Vieira found more openings as the fight wore on and started mounting offense of her own.

Usually the aggressor on the feet, Cyborg mixed her striking with high-level grappling. Takedowns in the final round sealed scores of 49-46 twice and 48-47.

The win keeps the 145-pound championship in her hands and adds to an already stacked career. It also delivers the milestone she came for, at a moment she may never get again.

PFL Tampa Main Card Results

Former champion Gadzhi Rabadanov needed less than a round to handle Tracy Reeder in the co-main event. He controlled Reeder on the ground, then unloaded ground-and-pound late in the frame for the TKO.

Undefeated Sabrinna de Sousa put on a striking clinic against former world title challenger Taila Santos. The unanimous decision reads as a star-making night and lifts her into flyweight contention.

England’s Luke “The Gent” Trainer opened the main card by stopping Roland “The Dream” Dunlap. A front kick to the face dropped him in the second round, and Trainer finished the job on the mat.