Cris Cyborg Santos

Cristiane Justino Venancio Santos (born July 9, 1985) is a mma fighter and the Strikeforce Women's Middleweight (145 pound) Champion after defeating Gina Carano on Aug. 15, 2009. Her current record is 10-1.

Background[]

Biography[]

Cristiane was a national-level handball player in Brazil before being discovered by Rudimar Fedrigo, a Chute Boxe Academy trainer in 2004 while she was still in high school. After only three months of training in Muay Thai, Santos started training jiu-jitsu and had her first mma match.

MMA Career[]

Rough start[]

After only a few months of training in March 2005, Santos lost her first mma match vs. Erica Paes via leg lock. It would be her only defeat.

thumb|left|400px|Santos vs. Erica Paes

Santos would continue training and face top fighter Vanessa Porto in November 2005, who she defeat by decsion.

thumb|left|400px|Santos vs. Vanessa Porto Part 2

Conquering Brazil[]

Santos would continue havng success in Brazil throughout 2006, facing American Chris Schroeder, and Brazilians Elaine Santiago and Marise Vitoria, winning all by TKO.

thumb|left|400px|Santos vs. Marisa Vitoria

Cyborg Hits America[]

It would take one and a half years until Santos would get a fight in July 2008 when she signed with EliteXC. She had an instant impact by defeating top grappler Shayna Baszler via TKO.

thumb|left|400px|Santos vs. Shayna Baszler

She would face Japan's Yoko Takahasi to a decsion win in November 2008.

As EliteXC went into bankruptcy, Strikeforce aquired Santos's contract. Her first match was a controversial TKO win over Hitomi Akano, as Santos weighted in 5.5 pounders uver the scheduled 145 pound weight limit.

Biggest Match in Women's MMA History[]

Santos would face Gina Carano for the first ever 145 pound title in Strikeforce history. In what was the highest rated women's match in women's mma histroy, Santos would win the title and maintain her dominance in the divsion.

thumb|left|400px|Santos vs. Gina Carano

Strikeforce Title Defences[]

With her conquering of Carano, Santos would seek challenges from any and all comers. First off came the new nuymber one contender Marloes Coenen. The Dutch fight would be a challenge, but Santos would go on to win handily in the thrid round.

thumb|left|400px|Santos vs. Marloes Coenen

Hungry for another challenger, Strikeforce lined up 135 pounder Jan Finney, which wasn't much of a tatsk for Santos.

thumb|left|400px|Santos vs. Jan Finney Round 2

Statistics[]

Born	Curitba, Parana, Brazil
Fighting Out of	San Diego, CA
Nickname	Cyborg
HT	5'8
WT	145
Fighting Style	Muay Thai, Jiu-jitsu, Chite Box
Home Gym	http://www.thearenamma.com

MMA Record[]

Total	11
Wins	10
Loses	1
Knockouts	8
Decisions	2

Professional Fight Record[]

Result	Opponent	Method	Round	Time	Event	Date	Location
Win	Jan Finney (3)	TKO	2	2:56	Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum	6/26/2010	San Jose, CA
Win	Matloes Coenen (3)	TKO	3	3:40	Strikeforce: Miami	1/30/2010	Sunrise, FL
Win	Gina Carano (2)	TKO	1	4:59	Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg	8/15/2009	San Jose, CA
Win	Hitomi Akano (1)	TKO	3	0:35	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz	4/11/2009	San Jose, CA
Win	Yoko Takahashi	Decision	3	3:00	EliteXC Heat	10/4/2008	Sunrise, FL
Win	Shayna Baszler	TKO	2	2:48	EliteXC Unfinished Business	7/26/2008	Stockton, CA
Win	Marisa Vitoria	TKO	1	1:27	Storm Samurai 12	5/21/2006	Curitiba, Brazil
Win	Elaine Santiago	TKO	1	2:46	Storm Samurai 11	5/21/2006	Curitiba, Brazil
Win	Chris Schroeder	TKO	1	n/a	Storm Samurai 10	1/28/2006	Curitiba, Brazil
Win	Vanessa Porto	Decision	3	5:00	Storm Samurai 9	11/20/2005	Curitiba, Brazil
Loss	Erica Paes	Submission (Knee Bar)	1	1:46	Show Fight 2	5/17/2005	Curitiba, Brazil

Santos weighed in 5.5 pounds over
Won the Strikeforce 145 pound title
Defended the Strikeforce 145 pound title

Websites[]

Official website

http://criscyborg.com/

Official twitter

http://twitter.com/criscyborg