Yana Kunitskaya On Fight With Cris Cyborg: ‘Everyone Has Weaknesses’

Yana Kunitskaya isn’t scared of facing off against Cris Cyborg at UFC 222. Kunitskaya, who gets a shot at Cyborg and the UFC women’s featherweight title this weekend, spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of the fight. Highlights are below:

On her mindset going into the fight: “I don’t feel any pressure. Everyone has weaknesses, and her last fight with Holly (Holm), it was five rounds, and it showed a lot. I was getting ready for everything and find holes everywhere – in stand-up and the ground in wrestling. I’m trying to get ready for everything.”

On being ready for Cyborg: “Since she started fighting in Strikeforce (I’ve been thinking about it). I wanted to fight in Strikeforce, but I couldn’t get a visa, an American visa. After she was fighting in Invicta and then in UFC. All my career I was thinking about this; one day I would fight her. I’m happy this is happening in big show in the UFC, and it’s a good chance for me.”

On plans for the bout changing before it was announced: “I was in my camp for a couple months and was getting ready, and the UFC kept changing everything for me. Dates, weight class, girls. So I was just training very hard and was ready for any moment. Three weeks before they told me Cris Cyborg, so I was excited and kept training hard.”

On Cyborg: “I know that she’s strong, but I don’t think she has that strong of knockout power. She has no clean knockouts where girls go down, like Holly (Holm) have. But yes, she’s very tough. She finishes all the fights by technical knockout. I think I’m strong, too, strong enough to compare with her.”