Cris Cyborg is The Body Lock’s 2020 Female Fighter of the Year
Cris Cyborg crushed her competition in Bellator MMA and claimed rights to The Body Lock’s Female MMA Fighter of the Year award for 2020.
Cyborg started the year strong by becoming the Bellator women’s featherweight champion after defeating Julia Budd by fourth-round TKO. She successfully defended that belt in October when she stopped Arlene Blencowe with a rear-naked choke in round two.
Four members from our six-man team here at The Body Lock agreed that Cyborg deserved the top spot in the Female Fighter of the Year voting. Other notable contenders included Ayaka Hamasaki, Yan Xiaonan, and Lauren Murphy.
Full results for The Body Lock’s 2020 Female MMA Fighter of the Year award:
- Cris Cyborg (14 votes)
- Ayaka Hamasaki (11 votes)
- Yan Xiaonan (6 votes)
- Lauren Murphy (5 votes)
In a video posted to The Body Lock’s YouTube channel, Patrick Auger, Matthew Wells, and Drake Riggs shared how they voted for The Body Lock’s 2020 Female MMA Fighter of the Year award:
- Auger voted Cyborg (#1), Hamasaki (#2), and Murphy (#3).
- Wells voted Cyborg (#1), Xiaonan (#2), and Murphy (#3).
- Riggs voted Hamasaki (#1), Cyborg (#2), Murphy (#3).
Do you agree that Cris Cyborg was the best female fighter in 2020? We’d love to see your opinion in the comments section below!
Hmmm. Not so sure you want to see my comments.
Cris defeated two ladies that happened to provide us one of the dullest fights in MMA memory when they faced each for the title, both huge underdogs against Cris.
Ayaka defeated 13-10 Tomo Maesawa and a 46 year old that, while doing exceptionally well for her age, is also relatively inexperienced with less than half the MMA fights of Ayaka.
Lauren won a questionable, at best, decision over Andrea, a finish over someone outside the top 15 and a respectable hard fought decision over Roxy.
Xiaonan soundly defeated two name fighters that appear to be in the twilight of their careers.
Yet no one thinks to name among the top 3 the SW champion that faced and narrowly defeated the previously recognized GOAT of her division in what many are calling the greatest fight of WMMA and the MMA fight of the year, irrespective of gender. Interesting. Personally, I think she was female fighter of the year.
Always appreciate your comments, JR. We discussed this as a team after filming the video. We all considered voting for Shevchenko but she seemingly missed out by the narrowest of margins for each of us. We all felt like Shevchenko was heavily favored to win both fights and really just did what we expected her to. Yes, Cyborg was favored against both opponents, too, but at least she finished them both. Shevchenko went to a decision with Maia. It was a strange year for Female Fighter of the Year!