| Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos | |
|---|---|
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos in 2009. |
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| Born | Cristiane Justino Venancio July 9, 1985 Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil |
| Other names | Cyborg |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 144.5 lb (65.5 kg; 10.32 st) |
| Reach | 69 in (180 cm) |
| Style | Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Fighting out of | San Diego, California, United States[1] |
| Team | Chute Boxe Academy The Arena[1] |
| Trainer | Rudimar Fedrigo |
| Rank | purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 12 |
| Wins | 11 |
| By knockout | 9 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Losses | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Notable relatives | Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, Husband |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Brazil | ||
| Women's Grappling | ||
| IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship | ||
| Gold | 2011 Long Beach | 74+ kg (Purple) |
| ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship | ||
| Bronze | 2009 Barcelona | 60+ kg |
Cristiane Justino Venancio Santos (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾiʃtʃiˈɐ̃ni ˈsɐ̃tus]; born July 9, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and the Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion (Formerly known as Women's Middleweight Championship and the Women's Lightweight Championship). Santos won the title on August 15, 2009 by defeating Gina Carano via TKO.[2][3][4] She lives in San Diego where she trains and teaches at The Arena, one of the premier MMA gyms in the United States.[1]
Santos is currently the #1-ranked pound-for-pound female MMA fighter in the world by MMARising.com[5] and the #1-ranked 145-pound female fighter according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings.[6]
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Cristiane was a national-level team handball player in Brazil before being discovered by Rudimar Fedrigo, a Chute Boxe Academy trainer.[7]
She made her anticipated United States MMA debut on July 26, 2008 against Shayna Baszler at EliteXC: Unfinished Business.[8] She won the fight by TKO in the second round.[9]
She faced Yoko Takahashi on October 4, 2008 at EliteXC: Heat. She won the fight by unanimous decision.[10]
Cristiane was scheduled to face Dutch submission specialist Marloes Coenen at XMMA 7 on February 27, 2009, but backed out of the fight after signing a new contract with Strikeforce.[11] Santos earned a BJJ Purple Belt under her jiu-jitsu instructor Cristiano Marcello in 2009.[12]
She later signed to fight for Strikeforce,[11] which greatly increased the chance that a fight with Gina Carano would take place. In her Strikeforce debut, Santos faced Hitomi Akano on April 11, 2009 at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz. Santos came in six pounds overweight for the fight. Akano originally rejected the fight due to Santos failing to make weight but later accepted the fight.[13] Santos defeated Akano by TKO in the third round.[14]
Before the fight with Carano, Santos was interviewed by mmaworldwide.com's reporter Aaron Tru. When asked to demonstrate her wrestling abilities, Santos choked the interviewer out cold, in a matter of seconds.
Santos fought Gina Carano on August 15, 2009 at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg for the Women's Middleweight Championship (145 lbs). Santos won via TKO at 4:59 of the 5:00 first round.[15] The card was the first time that a major promotion had featured a main event between women. After the match, Santos hugged Carano, and stated in her interview that she had the utmost respect for Carano, and that it was an honor to fight her.
Santos next defended her title against Dutch standout Marloes Coenen at a Strikeforce event on January 30, 2010.[16] Santos won the fight via TKO at 3:40 of round 3.[17]
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated that the next challenger for Santos would most likely be Erin Toughill.[18] However, Toughill later announced her intentions to leave Strikeforce and plans for the fight with Santos were cancelled.[19]
On April 7, 2010, Coker stated that Santos would fight again in June.[20] She faced Jan Finney at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum[21] and won the fight via KO in the second round.[22] Cyborg's contract with Strikeforce expired June 26, 2011. She renewed her Strikeforce contract on the August 25, 2011.
On September 23, 2011, Strikeforce announced that Santos will return to the promotion to face Hiroko Yamanaka. The fight took place at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal on December 17, 2011.[23] Santos won via TKO at just sixteen seconds into the first round.
Cristiane is married to MMA fighter Evangelista Santos.[8]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 12 matches | 11 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 9 | 0 |
| By submission | 0 | 1 |
| By decision | 2 | 0 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 11–1 | Hiroko Yamanaka | KO (punches) | Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal | December 17, 2011 | 1 | 0:16 | San Diego, California, United States | Defended Strikeforce Women's Featherweight (145 lb) Championship |
| Win | 10–1 | Jan Finney | KO (knee to the body) | Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum | June 26, 2010 | 2 | 2:56 | San Jose, California, United States | Defended Strikeforce Women's Featherweight (145 lb) Championship; Sherdog 2010 Beatdown of the Year |
| Win | 9–1 | Marloes Coenen | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce: Miami | January 30, 2010 | 3 | 3:40 | Sunrise, Florida, United States | Defended Strikeforce Women's Featherweight (145 lb) Championship |
| Win | 8–1 | Gina Carano | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg | August 15, 2009 | 1 | 4:59 | San Jose, California, United States | Won inaugural Strikeforce Women's Featherweight (145 lb) Championship |
| Win | 7–1 | Hitomi Akano | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz | April 11, 2009 | 3 | 0:35 | San Jose, California, United States | Catchweight bout, Santos was 5.5 lb over weight |
| Win | 6–1 | Yoko Takahashi | Decision (unanimous) | EliteXC: Heat | October 4, 2008 | 3 | 3:00 | Sunrise, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 5–1 | Shayna Baszler | TKO (punches) | EliteXC: Unfinished Business | July 26, 2008 | 2 | 2:48 | Stockton, California, United States | |
| Win | 4–1 | Marise Vitoria | TKO (punches and stomp) | Storm Samurai 12 | November 25, 2006 | 1 | 1:27 | Curitiba, Brazil | |
| Win | 3–1 | Elaine Santiago | TKO (corner stoppage) | Storm Samurai 11 | May 21, 2006 | 1 | 2:46 | Curitiba, Brazil | |
| Win | 2–1 | Chris Schroeder | TKO (punches) | Storm Samurai 10 | January 28, 2006 | 1 | N/A | Curitiba, Brazil | |
| Win | 1–1 | Vanessa Porto | Decision (unanimous) | Storm Samurai 9 | November 20, 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Curitiba, Brazil | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Erica Paes | Submission (kneebar) | Show Fight 2 | May 17, 2005 | 1 | 1:46 | Curitiba, Brazil |
| New championship | 1st Women's Middleweight Championship August 15, 2009 - present |
Current holder |
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