Pioneering women's MMA fighter Cris Cyborg is happy in Bellator, defending her title at Bellator 259

• Cris Cyborg, one of MMA's best fighters, says she's happier now aged 35 than in years before.
• Cyborg competes for Bellator MMA but in 2019 accused UFC President Dana White of being a bully.
• She returns to the cage Friday for a Bellator title fight against Leslie Smith.

Pioneering women's MMA fighter Cris Cyborg is happy in Bellator, defending her title Friday at Bellator 259.

Cyborg is one of the legends of combat sports, beginning in Curitiba in Brazil 16 years ago, joining Strikeforce in 2008, and building a formidable reputation as a ruthless puncher, before competing seven times in the UFC.

But as Cyborg's fame grew, she increasingly had to fend off abuse.

In 2014, a fellow competitor Ronda Rousey called Cyborg an "it." Days later, White refused to condemn Rousey's comments and said Cyborg looked like the former male fighter "Wanderlei Silva in a dress."

The podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan joked that Cyborg had a penis in 2015. And, in 2017, after Cyborg beat Holly Holm, a photographer at the gym Holm trains at repeatedly called Cyborg a man.

Cyborg has fought for respect in and out of the combat arena. In 2019, Cyborg said: "Everybody knows I don't have the best or greatest relationship with UFC. I don't have the best relationship with Dana White. He's bullying me around. Bullying me on the internet, and I suffer bullying everywhere because of this."

Two years later, as Cyborg prepares for her third fight at Bellator, a company hoping to one day rival the UFC, the 35-year-old tells Insider that she's happier in life, and feeling like she's getting respect.

"It's a different environment now I'm fighting in Bellator than in UFC," Cyborg said. "It's different now, I have a different partner to work together, we build each other. And it's much happier.

"We have to be treated with respect. If you want respect, give respect too. I was respectful. And I respected him [White] because he was my boss."

Cyborg fights Leslie Smith in the Bellator 259 headliner at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. She has beaten Smith before, in 2016, but foresees a completely different fight this time around as she claims both herself, and Smith, have vastly improved.

"I feel great, I did amazing camp, and trained hard," she said. "I feel ready. Bellator have the whole division at 145-pounds, all the girls are fighting each other.

"She's been training for five years and so you're surely getting better at something when you do that. I look at her this way, but I am a better fighter than before, too, technically. I did a lot of fights after 2016, and have improved everything."

Women's fighting has evolved drastically since Cyborg's early days

Cyborg said women's MMA has advanced a lot in the 16 years since she turned professional at regional shows in Brazil.

"When I started fighting there were not a lot of girls, but I always believed that one day the opportunity would come.

"It's cool to see from where I started in the beginning, how MMA has grown so much. It makes me really happy, thankful.

"I want to make sure people know girls can fight, that we can get technical, and make people care about our fights. Women's MMA is amazing as people do get together and watch.

"The sport is just going to get better and better."

Bellator 259 will be broadcast May 21 on Showtime from 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.