UFC Fight Night: Lina Lansberg faces the formidable Cris Cyborg in Brasilia

UFC welterweight and commentator Dan Hardy looks ahead to this weekend's highly-anticipated contest between female fighters Cris Cyborg and Lina Lansberg, as UFC heads to Brasilia, Brazil

Cyborg is the scariest woman in all of mixed martial arts (Getty)

This weekend Brasilia, Brazil, will be the proving ground for a UFC newcomer, stepping into the Octagon for her first time. Her name is Lina Lansberg, and her nickname, ‘Elbow Princess’, hints at her Muay Thai background. Not many fighters get to step into the UFC as one half of the main event unless you are a big name, or taking on a challenge that nobody else is interested in. That is the situation here. Lansberg will be facing the scariest woman in all of mixed martial arts: Cris “Cyborg’ Justino.

Better known simply as ‘Cyborg’, Justino has terrorised the featherweight division for over 10 years. After losing her first professional bout she has seemed unstoppable, racking up 16 wins and only allowing two of those opponents to hear the final bell. She is a fearsome competitor with an aggressive striking style that few can handle. The calls for her to fight Rousey were frequent when Ronda was beating all comers, but with her competing at a weight class above, it never came to fruition.

The UFC currently only has bantam and strawweight divisions for female athletes, and with Cyborg having to push herself to make featherweight, there hasn’t been an option for her to sign permanently with the organisation. Realising how big of a draw she is, the UFC matchmakers agreed on a catchweight bout of 140lbs (63.6kgs) and at UFC 198 she made her promotional debut, stopping Leslie Smith in the first round, in front of her hometown fans in Curitiba, Brazil. This will be her second bout, this time headlining the card in Brasilia.

Lansberg immediately commands the respect of the MMA community, as most fighters wouldn’t take this fight. Cyborg has looked overwhelming in every bout she has had in the last decade. It’s no surprise that women aren’t lining up to face her. Although she doesn’t have the same amount of MMA experience as Cyborg, Lansberg is no slouch. She has 48 Muay Thai fights and is a decorated Scandinavian, European and World champion. Her nickname was given to her whilst fighting out in Thailand, as a lot of her opponents were bloodied with vicious elbow strikes.

The benefit of fighting someone like Cyborg, who is so well-known, is that she knows what she is getting herself into. There is plenty of footage of Cris Cyborg and with few people expecting her to win, she has nothing to lose. As you can see by her Muay Thai credentials, she has reason to be confident. Her MMA experience amounts to just seven bouts, but after losing her debut she has won six straight fights. She also has retired UFC veteran Akira Corassani training her, who knows the sport very well and is becoming an excellent coach.

Another thing I found interesting is that she referenced a Muay Thai fight that Cyborg had in 2014, against Jorina Baars, a fight that didn’t go as Cyborg expected and saw her on the wrong end of a few knockdowns when she was being too overzealous in her attack. Lansberg feels that if Cyborg can’t push her opponent around the Octagon she can be beaten - and the ‘Elbow Princess’ is not one for moving backwards. Most fighters focus heavily on their kickboxing game, sometimes adding knees to their arsenal. The elbow striking range is often neglected and could be very useful when Cyborg comes crashing forward.

It is a massively under-utilised weapon in MMA as its so difficult to train realistically without injuring training partners and coaches. With Lansberg’s wealth of Muay Thai experience, she has had the opportunity to really refine that part of her game. She has used it with devastating effect in her last six bouts, as well as showing her full striking skills to measure, read and then dismantle her opposition. We know little of her ground skills, but with Cyborg having 16 knockouts and no submission wins on her record, it’s unlikely that either athlete will be looking to take the fight to the ground.

If Lansberg can pull off a huge upset and leave Brazil with the victory, it will launch her into the spotlight and then everyone will be playing matchmaker to decide who she will fight next. It would also slow the roll of the seemingly unstoppable Cris Cyborg and humanise her to the other fighters in her division, making her somewhat vulnerable. The fear that she commands in the fighting arena at the moment is a part of her persona and her nickname couldn’t be more fitting. However, if the ‘Elbow Princess’ moniker is anything to go by, this could be far more entertaining than most fans are expecting.

Two other ‘Big’ names will also be gracing the card this weekend, as Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson, takes on Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva. This bout is for relevance in the heavyweight division, as they sit at 11 and 15 in the rankings. Nelson is coming off a disappointing split decision loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Alvarez in July, a bout that many thought he won on takedowns and Octagon control. Bigfoot is in a similar but arguably more dire situation, having won one fight in his last five – against Soa Palelei at UFC 190 - since losing to the former heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez, in a title bout back in 2013.

Both of these are fan favourites, determined not to slip further down the rankings. As is the former bantamweight champion, Renan Barao, who is now campaigning at featherweight, and will be taking on Phillipe Nover in the co-main event. One more to look out for is the headliner of the UFC Fight Pass portion of the card, as Brazil native Alan Patrick takes on Scotland’s own, Stevie ‘Braveheart’ Ray. The fighting Scot is riding a five-fight win streak, three of which have been in the UFC. An exciting night of fights, for the always excitable Brazilian fans. Be sure to tune in.

Watch UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg live on BT Sport 2 from 1am early in the morning of Sunday 25th September, or catch the Early Prelims exclusively on UFC Fight Pass from 11.30pm on Saturday night.