Cyborg is back. Or maybe she never left at all?

Cris "Cyborg" Justino, 34, rebounded from her stunning loss to Amanda Nunes in December 2018—her first since losing by submission in her debut in 2005—with a return to form in beating a very durable Felicia Spencer in UFC 240's co-main event at Rogers Place. Justino won by unanimous decision. That the fight went to the scorecards at all could be seen as something of a moral victory for Spencer, if moral victories count for anything in mixed martial arts. They do not. 

Justino came out swinging as she always does, but Spencer took far more punishment than most Cyborg opponents can endure. Spencer even drew first blood in cutting open Justino's forehead with a nasty elbow in the first round and then relentlessly clinched Justino against the cage as the Edmonton crowd chanted for her in unison.

Spencer was a substantial underdog going into the fight, but if nothing else, she proved herself to be a gritty, determined competitor capable of taking Justino's best strikes and powering through them. 

Because mixed martial arts is a sport of recency bias, Justino's loss to Nunes left many wondering if she still had the killer instinct that made her one of the most formidable fighters on the planet for more than a decade or if she was ever that good to begin with. 

The answer to both of these absurd questions is, of course, a resounding yes. Losing to Nunes these days is nothing to be ashamed of; the featherweight and bantamweight champion is the greatest women's mixed martial artist of all time. Thirteen years of nothing but winning cannot be swept aside so easily. 

The only real question surrounding Justino, especially with this fight in her rearview mirror, is: What's next? One would hope a rematch with Nunes would be next up; Justino is not only deserving, but it would also be a box office attraction. 

But the rematch is not a given. Saturday's fight was the last on Justino's contract; she is now a free agent, or will be after the UFC's exclusive matching period concludes. For any other fighter of Justino's stature, skill and popularity, the UFC would move heaven and earth to keep her and prevent her from going to Bellator. Company president Scott Coker and Justino have a long history of working together, and Bellator's featherweight division is deeper, a fact Justino recently noted on social media. 

But Justino is not any other fighter, nor has she ever been afforded the sort of respect typically granted to others. Long before she joined the UFC, Justino was a favorite target of Dana White's cruelty, particularly in his defense and promotion of Ronda Rousey. Once Justino arrived in the UFC in May 2016, their relationship never really took a turn for the better.

As recently as last week, White decided to call attention to Justino's so-called ducking of a Nunes rematch. This is a curious path for the UFC president to follow, but it's not surprising once you remember it wasn't all that long ago that White essentially called Nunes a coward because she was too ill to defend her championship. 

It is remarkable that Justino ever entered into a UFC contract to begin with, given the fraught nature of their relationship and the depth of White's hateful comments toward her over the years. Justino also knows what she's worth and won't accept a fight just because it's the bout the UFC wants; both of these are traits generally frowned upon by UFC brass. 

If I had to predict Cyborg's next home, it would be Bellator. Justino, when Joe Rogan asked her in Saturday's post-fight interview what her next step would be, said she would leave it up to her management before quickly noting she did want the Nunes rematch.

But I think her days in the UFC are done. The only reason to stick around and continue being disrespected by White is the Nunes rematch, and that probably isn't enough to do the trick. White meekly offered the option of a one-fight deal for Justino, ostensibly for the Nunes bout, but if Justino were to win the rematch, she'd be locked into a contract for as long as she remains champion. 

For a fighter constantly belittled and disrespected by her current promoter, it just doesn't make much sense to stick around, especially when her longtime friend, Coker, is waiting with open arms to welcome her to a place where she'll be treated as the all-time great she is.

There was a time when I never thought we'd see Justino in the UFC at all; that we did see her there, and that White still couldn't put himself fully in her corner, is both a testament to his pettiness and to her grace and calm in the face of ugliness. 

She deserves better. She has always deserved better. And as much as I want to see her fight Nunes again, I want even more for her to find a home where she's revered for the all-time great she has always been and continues to be.