Sinead Kavanagh says Cris Cyborg is playing ‘mind games’ ahead of Bellator 271 title fight

Cris Cyborg puts her featherweight title on the line against Sinead Kavanagh in the Bellator 271 main event in Hollywood, Fla. on Friday. In the days leading up to the bout, Kavanagh accuses the Brazilian of trying to play mind games.

“(Cyborg) is over here playing mind games. You won’t even believe what they’re up to. They’re tagging me in that suplex (video). She has these ‘Squid Game’ cards with her face on them and she’s leaving them everywhere I go. She’s leaving them everywhere I go. She’s leaving them in my corner, leaving them on my floor. She’s trying to play her mind games,” Kavanagh said during the event’s media day. “She’s trying to break me, but she can’t.”

Kavanagh (7-4) is on a two-fight winning streak. While a heavy underdog heading into the title fight, she believes Cyborg’s past opponents have shown her too much respect.

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“She gets too much (respect) in the cage. The cage is not to be giving respect, the cage is to fight, and the cage is to be leaving my soul in there and that’s exactly what I’m going to do Friday night,” she said.

Bellator 271 takes place at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. It’s the next-to-last Bellator MMA event of the year.

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