Cris Cyborg (left) faced multiple downs against Ketlen Vieira at PFL Tampa. | 📷: PFL MMA
Almost two months after his 30th MMA win,
Cris Cyborg reflects on the circumstances surrounding his August 22 match against fellow Brazilian Ketlen Vieira in Tampa, Fla., to be “extremely unusual.”
Vieira missed weight by more than seven pounds, making Cyborg’s last fight
Professional fighter league contract not for the title race.
Those circumstances now include a positive test for a steroid banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, according to Mohegan Tribe director of athletics regulation Mike Mazzulli.
Ketlen Vieira missed more than seven pounds before the Cris Cyborg match; the regulator confirms the content of the prohibited steroid substance in samples A and B
Mazzulli told Sherdog.com that analysis of Vieira’s A and B samples from his in-competition collection yielded the same negative analytical finding. Mazzulli declined to identify the banned substance but said Vieira received a six-month ban, retroactive to the date of the fight.
“Thanks to Mike Mazzulli and everyone who participated in the rigorous testing program,” said Cyborg. “I believe clean sport deserves strong enforcement.”
Vieira was notified of the positive test and was temporarily suspended pending the results of his requested B-Sample analysis.
The Mohegan Tribe’s Department of Sports Regulation replaced the United States Anti-Doping Agency as the Anti-Doping Partner of the Professional Fighters League in 2025.
Bellator MMAdrug testing program.
Representatives for Vieira, the PFL and the Florida Athletic Commission, which regulates the event, did not respond to requests for comment.
This bout was originally scheduled to be Cyborg’s first defense of the PFL women’s featherweight title. The 41-year-old who won the belt by defeating the Australian Sara Collins Late last year, he faced a challenger who had spent nearly a decade in the UFC.
Vieira went 10-5 in the Octagon, alternating wins and losses over his last four years. His contract expired in May after the win and the UFC decided against re-signing him.
Three months after winning the decision Jacqueline Cavalcanti in her last UFC appearance, Vieira was set to challenge Cyborg for the PFL belt in Florida.
But Vieira missed weight, and Cyborg, who clinched the championship, saved the main event by accepting a 153-pound title bout.
“However, I took the fight and entered the cage knowing that I was going to give away a significant physical advantage,” Cyborg said.
Vieira told MMAFighting.com that severe kidney and abdominal pain before the weigh-in prevented him from making the featherweight limit.
“Ketlen, I respect you,” Cyborg said. “I know what it takes to step into that cage. I wish you nothing but success in the future.
“I know fighters can face difficult circumstances in a fight camp. I have no interest in attacking him personally.”
After five rounds against the opponent he described as noticeably strong Impact power,
Invicta,
Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipThe Bellator and PFL champion was proud of his performance, enough to make him reconsider his retirement.
Undefeated in nearly eight years after losing the UFC featherweight title Amanda NunesCyborg plans to fight twice more in MMA and once in boxing.
The PFL currently has the right to match all contractual Cyborg signings. Once that period ends, he can negotiate as an unrestricted free agent.
“My career hasn’t been perfect and I’ve never tried to hide from my past,” Cyborg said. “In 2011, I tested positive for a banned substance, served my suspension, took responsibility for what was in my body, and made major changes in the management of my team and supplements. Since then, I have competed under the strictest testing programs in MMA, including under the supervision of Mike Mazzulli, and have continued to pass those tests.
“That’s why I believe rigorous, independent testing is important. It protects the fighters, the sport and the legacy we’ve been working for our whole lives.”
