UFC hopes for Cyborg-Nunes fight at UFC 232 on Dec. 29

ByARIEL HELWANI
July 12, 2018, 12:56 PM

The highly anticipated Cris "Cyborg" Justino vs. Amanda Nunes fight is closer to becoming a reality.

The UFC is hoping to book the women's featherweight title fight for UFC 232 on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas, sources confirmed with ESPN.

Nunes posted a signed bout agreement for that event on social media Wednesday night, after Justino tried to persuade her earlier in the day to fight at UFC 228 on Sept. 8.

According to multiple sources, the promotion wants the fight to happen at its year-end show, scheduled to take place at T-Mobile Arena. The fight is expected to be for Justino's 145-pound title.

Justino (20-1, 1 NC) is considered the best female fighter in the world. Her lone loss came in her professional debut in 2005, and most recently she defeated Yana Kunitskaya in March via first-round TKO. Justino has openly stated that she would like to fight before Dec. 29, but that doesn't appear to be the plan at this time.

Nunes (16-4) is the UFC women's bantamweight champion. Her win over Raquel Pennington in May was her seventh in a row, and she holds victories over Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Valentina Shevchenko, among others. Should she win, Nunes would become just the third fighter in UFC history to be a champion in two weight classes at the same time.