UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg has always sought out the biggest and best opportunities for her career.

As the consensus pound-for-pound best women’s fighter on the planet for the better part of the last decade, Cyborg has always welcomed the toughest and most high profile challenges that not only raise her stature in the public eye but also help to cement her legacy in the annals of history.

Cyborg has taken part in several notable bouts in her fighting career including a 2009 showdown against Gina Carano and she spent years trying to chase down Ronda Rousey when she was the UFC women’s bantamweight champion.

While she never got to Rousey before her UFC career came to a close, Cyborg will have the opportunity to face the woman who sent her packing when she takes on current 135-pound women’s champion Amanda Nunes on Dec. 29 at UFC 232.

It’s a historic matchup not only because of the resumes that both Cyborg and Nunes have amassed during their respective careers but it is also the first time the UFC has ever promoted a champion versus champion fight in the women’s divisions.

On the outside, there’s a lot on the line for Cyborg when she steps into the Octagon at UFC 232 but she says this matchup is no bigger than any of the other accomplishments she’s already achieved during her fighting career.

“I have had many big moments in my career,” Cyborg explained when speaking to FloCombat. “Winning the first major world title in WMMA, capturing the Invicta FC featherweight belt, two epic fights in Brazil at 140 pounds, and my fight of the night performance against Holly Holm are all examples of big fights and I don't think any of them are bigger than each other.”

While it may seem like Cyborg is somehow downplaying the magnitude of her upcoming fight, she’s really just staying focused on the task at hand.

As much as this champion versus champion showdown means to the sport and to women’s mixed martial arts as a whole, Cyborg knows it’s still a fight and she has beat Nunes before contemplating what this really means for her legacy.

“It will be a great fight,” Cyborg stated. “Nunes is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has wins over Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey so she has the experience of fighting on the biggest events. 

“I have been asking for this fight since she started giving interviews saying that she wanted to fight me.”

Nunes has prior experience competing at featherweight where she’ll meet Cyborg on Dec. 29 but she’s taken more time leading into this contest to add on some extra muscle and truly prepare her body for a fight at 145-pounds.

Over the past few years, Nunes has been a wrecking ball against many of the top women’s bantamweights including those fights against Rousey and Tate but she’s also faced some adversity with a pair of close battles against current UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

As dominant as Nunes has been during her current seven fight win streak, Cyborg still sees a lot of holes in her game and mistakes that she’s been making for the past seven years that have never been corrected.

“Amanda has lost five out of the eight rounds she has fought Valentina and Shevchenko is now fighting at 125 pounds,” Cyborg said. “Against the smaller fighter, Nunes showed problems with her conditioning. 

“Every fight is different, and I don't look too much into old footage but I've seen mistakes in her fights against Sarah D'Alelio and Alexis Davis that she is still making even though she has been winning.”

Both of the fights that Cyborg mentioned involved Nunes being taken down to the ground where she was finished by Davis due to strikes on the mat and largely out grappled by D'Alelio.

Those losses seem to show a path to victory for Cyborg, although she promises to go after Nunes from bell to bell — on the feet or on the ground — until she puts her away. 

“Everyone knows my game plan is to go for the KO, but Nunes has lost four fights and all of them have been because of mistakes made on the ground,” Cyborg said. “Nunes is athletic, but I am going to be in good shape and push the pace.

“I will be the pressure and if I can win the fight with a submission or a strike, I will be looking to finish the fight the entire time.”