Nationality Brazilian Role Mixed Martial Artist Ex-spouse Evangelista Santos Name Cristiane Justino Wins by knockout 2 | Reach 69 in (180 cm) Height 1.73 m Division Featherweight Weight 66 kg | |
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Born Cristiane Justino Venancio July 9, 1985 (age 39) Curitiba, Parana, Brazil ( 1985-07-09 ) Other names Cyborg, Cristiane Santos Residence San Diego, California, U.S. Style Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Movies Elite XC: Lawler vs Smith II Similar People Ronda Rousey, Gina Carano, Miesha Tate, Evangelista Santos, Holly Holm Profiles | ||
Cristiane Justino Venâncio (formerly Cristiane Santos; born July 9, 1985), commonly referred to by her ring name Cris Cyborg, is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist currently signed with the UFC. She is the current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion, as well as the former Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion and former Invicta FC World Featherweight Champion. Cyborg won the Strikeforce title on August 15, 2009, by defeating Gina Carano via first-round TKO. She lives in San Diego where she trains and teaches at The Arena.
Contents
- Real CYBORG Cristiane Justino Muscle Madness
- Early life
- Mixed martial arts career
- Strikeforce
- Banned substance violation
- Invicta Fighting Championships
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Personal life
- References
Real CYBORG - Cristiane Justino | Muscle Madness
Early life
Cyborg was a national-level team handball player in Brazil before being discovered by Rudimar Fedrigo, a Chute Boxe Academy trainer.
Mixed martial arts career
She made her anticipated United States MMA debut on July 26, 2008, against Shayna Baszler at EliteXC: Unfinished Business. She won the fight by TKO in the second round.
She faced Yoko Takahashi on October 4, 2008, at EliteXC: Heat. She won the fight by unanimous decision.
She 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. Cyborg earned a BJJ Purple Belt under her jiu-jitsu instructor Cristiano Marcello in 2009.
Strikeforce
She later signed to fight for Strikeforce, which greatly increased the chance that a fight with Gina Carano would take place. In her Strikeforce debut, she faced Hitomi Akano on April 11, 2009, at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz. Cyborg came in six pounds overweight for the fight. Akano originally rejected the fight due to Cyborg failing to make weight but later accepted the fight. She defeated Akano by TKO in the third round.
Before the fight with Carano, Cyborg was interviewed by mmaworldwide.com's reporter Aaron Tru. When asked how long it would take to submit Carano with a choke hold, she choked him.
She fought Gina Carano on August 15, 2009, at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg for the Women's Featherweight Championship. Cyborg won via TKO at 4:59 of the 5:00 first round. The card was the first time that a major promotion had featured a main event between women. After the match, she hugged Carano, and stated in her interview that she had the utmost respect for Carano, and that it was an honor to fight her.
She next defended her title against Dutch standout Marloes Coenen at a Strikeforce event on January 30, 2010. She won the fight via TKO at 3:40 of round 3.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated that the next challenger for Cyborg would most likely be Erin Toughill. However, Toughill later announced her intentions to leave Strikeforce and plans for the fight were cancelled.
On April 7, 2010, Coker stated that Cyborg would fight again in June. She faced Jan Finney at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum and won the fight via KO in the second round. Her contract with Strikeforce expired on June 26, 2011. She renewed her Strikeforce contract on August 25, 2011.
Banned substance violation
On September 23, 2011, Cyborg announced that she would return to the promotion to face Hiroko Yamanaka. The fight took place at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal on December 17, 2011. She won via TKO just sixteen seconds into the first round; however, on January 6, 2012, it was announced that Cyborg had tested positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid. As a result of the banned substance, the fight's result was changed to a no contest. Cyborg had her license suspended for one year and was fined $2,500.
Invicta Fighting Championships
On February 15, 2013, a month after Strikeforce folded, Cyborg signed a multi-fight deal with Invicta Fighting Championships. She was scheduled to make her debut on April 5 at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson against Ediane Gomes to determine who would move on to face Marloes Coenen. However, Gomes suffered an injury and Cyborg instead faced Fiona Muxlow. Cyborg was successful in her return, winning the bout via TKO in the first round.
Cyborg faced Marloes Coenen in a rematch for the inaugural Invicta FC Featherweight Championship at Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg on July 13, 2013. She defeated Coenen by TKO in the fourth round to become the first Invicta FC featherweight champion.
She returned to Muay Thai to face Jennifer Colomb at Lion Fight 11 in Las Vegas on September 20, 2013, defeating the previously undefeated Frenchwoman by TKO in round three. She had initially been set to fight Martina Jindrova but Jindrova withdrew with injury.
She lost a five-round unanimous decision against Jorina Baars in a fight for the inaugural Lion Fight Women's Welterweight Championship in the co-main event of Lion Fight 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on March 28, 2014. Baars officially knocked down Cyborg in the first round with a head kick and in the fifth round with a spinning heel kick, although referee Tony Weeks missed at least two other occasions throughout the fight where a knockdown could have been issued. Cyborg hit the canvas from a front kick in one occasion and from a knee on another, both times they were ruled slips by the referee.
In February 2015, Cyborg returned to MMA to defend her Invicta Featherweight title against Charmaine Tweet in the main event at Invicta FC 11. She successfully defended her title, winning the fight via TKO in just under a minute in the first round.
Cyborg faced Faith Van Duin on July 9, 2015, at Invicta FC 13: Cyborg vs. Van Duin. She won the fight by TKO in the first round due to a knee to the body and punches.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
In March 2015, it was announced that Cyborg had signed with the UFC. Cyborg made her promotional debut at UFC 198 against Leslie Smith at a catchweight of 140 pounds. She won the fight by TKO in the first round.
Cyborg faced promotional newcomer Lina Länsberg in a catchweight (140 lb) bout on September 24, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 95. The referee stopped the fight midway through the second round after Länsberg could not effectively defend herself.
In December 2016 UFC was notified of a potential USADA doping violation by Cyborg. Cyborg's team immediately responded that it was in regards to a substance that helped her recover from her weight cut. On February 17, 2017, Cyborg was granted a retroactive therapeutic use exemption (TUE). Therefore, her suspension was lifted, and she was immediately eligible to compete.
In March 2017 Cyborg vacated her Invicta Featherweight title and called out Germaine de Randamie for the belt targeting UFC 214 in Anaheim, California. The match fell apart since Germaine de Randamie refused to fight Cyborg stating that Cyborg was a proven drug cheater and she was willing to get stripped of the belt for not fighting Cyborg. De Randamie was stripped of her belt on June 19, 2017 by UFC and Cyborg was expected to face Megan Anderson to fight for the vacated UFC Women's Featherweight Championship at UFC 214 on July 29 in Anaheim, California. On June 27, Anderson pulled out of the fight due to personal reasons and was replaced by current Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion Tonya Evinger. Cyborg won by TKO in the third round to claim her first UFC championship.
Personal life
Cyborg was married to MMA fighter Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, and "adopted" his nickname. The couple split in December 2011.