Cris Cyborg saves the day, will headline UFC 222 vs. Yana Kunitskaya

Steven Muehlhausen

Cris Cyborg saves the day, will headline UFC 222 vs. Yana Kunitskaya image

UFC 222 is now off life support since a new main event has been found.

Sporting News has confirmed a report from MMAFighting.com that Cris Cyborg will defend her women's featherweight championship against Yana Kunitskaya on March 3.

Cyborg (19-1, 1NC) is unbeaten in her last 20 fights and last competed in UFC 219 in December, beating Holly Holm by unanimous decision.

MORE: February UFC pound-for-pound rankings — does Cyborg make the cut?

Kunitskaya (10-3) is a former Invicta FC bantamweight champion, and makes her debut at 145 pounds. Kunitskaya had been scheduled to make her Octagon debut with Leah Letson at UFC on Fox 28 on Feb. 24. She is heading into the contest with a 2-2-1 record in her last five fights.

Originally, Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar were set to  headline the show vying for the featherweight title. The fight was canceled last week, as Holloway suffered an ankle injury. Edgar (22-5-1) will remain on the card and face rising prospect Brian Ortega (13-0, 1 NC) in the co-main event. The winner is expected to get the next crack at Holloway.

After Holloway-Edgar fell through, the UFC attempted to book a rematch between T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt for the bantamweight title. Garbrandt agreed to the contest, but Dillashaw refused to take it on short notice. Sources told SN that if a championship bout couldn't be made, then either the card would have been shifted to Fox Sports 1 or canceled. 

UFC 222 takes place from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. 

Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can listen to his podcast, "The Fight Club Chicago," here . You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA .

Steven Muehlhausen

Steven Muehlhausen Photo

Steven Muehlhausen is a contributing writer for DAZN News. He writes features and news stories, and provides analysis relating to the world of boxing. Over the past five years, he has interviewed some of the biggest names in combat sports, including Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Terence Crawford, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Bill Goldberg.