Christiane "Cyborg" Justino

[Kevin73]

"Cyborg" tests positive for steroids

http://mmajunkie.com/news/26854/csac-strikeforce-champ-cris-cyborg-santos-tests-positive-for-anabolic-steroid.mma

No surprise for many people. I don't buy her explanation that she got a "dietary supplement" to lose weight and didn't know what she was doing.

[donjitsu2]

http://mmajunkie.com/news/26854/csac-strikeforce-champ-cris-cyborg-santos-tests-positive-for-anabolic-steroid.mma

No surprise for many people. I don't buy her explanation that she got a "dietary supplement" to lose weight and didn't know what she was doing.


In addition to the stanozolol, I would be surprised if she cycled Anavar either...a woman just doesn't get that lean without "help"

[Kevin73]

In addition to the stanozolol, I would be surprised if she cycled Anavar either...a woman just doesn't get that lean without "help"

Most people don't get that lean without help.

[taai gihk yahn]

http://mmajunkie.com/news/26854/csac-strikeforce-champ-cris-cyborg-santos-tests-positive-for-anabolic-steroid.mma

No surprise for many people. I don't buy her explanation that she got a "dietary supplement" to lose weight and didn't know what she was doing.

:eek::eek::eek:

No!!!

Shocked, just SHOCKED, I am, to hear of this thing...

:rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

I've actually met her a few times. :cool:

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/36372_441137169362_135964689362_5863602_7194524_n. jpg

[Syn7]

She is way too manly to not have long term steroid use in her past. If she stopped doing it, it was only because of testing. Look at pics of her as a young girl and you can see what I'm talking about. As far as I know she has never had any condition requiring long term hormone treatment.

[sanjuro_ronin]

You do NOT put in hours of training on a daily basis AND maintain peak condition AND not burn out at the elite level without "elite level performance enhancers".
To think other wise is very naive.
The use of performance/recovery enhancers in pro sports is a given and people just have to accept that fact.
It may even surprise some the frequent use of them even at the amateur and recreational levels.

[Kevin73]

You do NOT put in hours of training on a daily basis AND maintain peak condition AND not burn out at the elite level without "elite level performance enhancers".
To think other wise is very naive.
The use of performance/recovery enhancers in pro sports is a given and people just have to accept that fact.
It may even surprise some the frequent use of them even at the amateur and recreational levels.

100% correct!

Unfortunately, the mass public has no idea since they are all taught to believe the the ultra-ripped bodies in the magazines look like that all the time. They don't realize that most of them use chemicals to help them get that look for their photoshoot and then go back to a "smoother" look. Their are some people who have naturally low levels of bodyfat and their body carries it in a way that they have a ripped look to it without anything, but they are usually younger.

[sanjuro_ronin]

100% correct!

Unfortunately, the mass public has no idea since they are all taught to believe the the ultra-ripped bodies in the magazines look like that all the time. They don't realize that most of them use chemicals to help them get that look for their photoshoot and then go back to a "smoother" look. Their are some people who have naturally low levels of bodyfat and their body carries it in a way that they have a ripped look to it without anything, but they are usually younger.

Indeed.
When I was competing I was super ripped, I was also 135 to 140 lbs due to the intensive training ( 3 hours a day, 5-6 days a week).
Look at GSP, he is ripped and he is also 170 lbs at 5'-10".
Any guy at 5-10 and 170 will be ripped.
But I digress.
Fact is that only the naive and those that want to "delude" the public claim that there is no use of "performance enhancers".
They are so readily available in any gym nowadays that it's ridiculous.

[Syn7]

It may be a given, but it's still no good. I would rather it was all just above board. Greed and insecurity are the problems.

[sanjuro_ronin]

It may be a given, but it's still no good. I would rather it was all just above board. Greed and insecurity are the problems.

Its a hard call to make dude.
Knowing a few high level athletes in various sports I know the demands that are imposed on them to be at that level.
Either you walk away or you adapt.
The thing is that IF it was "above board" those that are winning NOW would still be the ones winning.
Performance enhancers is a misnomer, the correct term should be recovery enhancers because that is really the main thing that they do to "enhance" the performance.
They allow a athlete to train harder, longer and get to where he WOULD be anyway but quicker.
You do NOT get to be a world or Olympic champ because of them, but they do allow you to get there faster.
And that is really the issue.
Add to that the factor that if one guys does it the only way to "even the playing field" is for others to do it.
The issue I have is NOT the high level guys are doing it but that idiots at the recreational level are doing it and thinking that they can make it to the elite levels ( they can't).
You even have guys doing it just to look good and kick ass at the local, low-level competitive venues.
Sad really.
In the regard to those that do it and are doing it for recreational and image reasons then YES, I agree with you view 100%, it is totally about insecurities, inferiorty complexes and just being really dumb.

[Kevin73]

I should have been more clear on my other post. I didn't mean to suggest that every guy that has a ripped 6 pack used PE's. I was thinking more along the lines of the pro bodybuilders who have that ultra thin no water whatsoever look. That look is not achieved without drugs.

My roommate in college had a low level of bodyfat and also ran cross country, he always had a 6 pack, but couldn't gain weight to save his life when he quit running and wanted to lift weights.

An interesting documentary is "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" (you can stream it on Netflix) it talks about the use of steriods and steroid abuse and the hypocrisy that the public puts on the athletes to perform, but want to be in denial of how they do it.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I should have been more clear on my other post. I didn't mean to suggest that every guy that has a ripped 6 pack used PE's. I was thinking more along the lines of the pro bodybuilders who have that ultra thin no water whatsoever look. That look is not achieved without drugs.

My roommate in college had a low level of bodyfat and also ran cross country, he always had a 6 pack, but couldn't gain weight to save his life when he quit running and wanted to lift weights.

An interesting documentary is "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" (you can stream it on Netflix) it talks about the use of steriods and steroid abuse and the hypocrisy that the public puts on the athletes to perform, but want to be in denial of how they do it.

Well said and I have not seen that doc but sounds like something worth seeing.
I really don't think that people in gyms understand how prevelant PE's are at the recreational level and how much they are used by models and celebrities.
Stallone is one of the most honest ones out there in that regard.

[Frost]

If you are earning 10 million dollars a film, using the best PEDs you can find just makes sense, if you are a pro level athlete looking to recover better so you can train harder and become a champion (sherk anyone) it can makes sense, to think taking dodgy PEDs sold out of your gym backroom will make you the next pro UFC champ IS retarted

And to be honest offer me a £10 million contract and tell me I need to take PEDs id say yes, which baseball blayer was it that started them all off taking steroids and said hey I have a full time doctor to look after me, the best PEDS in the world and it helped me earn £20million or so, what’s wrong or dangerous about that?


As for the widespread use of PEDS in MMA, well in a sport where you need to train at least 5 days a week and probably multiple sessions each day to get good at 3 different disciplines as well as work conditioning and strength, who the feck honestly thinks you can do that without either freaky genes or PEDS

[sanjuro_ronin]

If you are earning 10 million dollars a film, using the best PEDs you can find just makes sense, if you are a pro level athlete looking to recover better so you can train harder and become a champion (sherk anyone) it can makes sense, to think taking dodgy PEDs sold out of your gym backroom will make you the next pro UFC champ IS retarted

And to be honest offer me a £10 million contract and tell me I need to take PEDs id say yes, which baseball blayer was it that started them all off taking steroids and said hey I have a full time doctor to look after me, the best PEDS in the world and it helped me earn £20million or so, what’s wrong or dangerous about that?


As for the widespread use of PEDS in MMA, well in a sport where you need to train at least 5 days a week and probably multiple sessions each day to get good at 3 different disciplines as well as work conditioning and strength, who the feck honestly thinks you can do that without either freaky genes or PEDS

Pretty much on the button.
The sad part is that people ARE taking PED because they see their "idols" looking and performing like that and want to be like them.

[Frost]

Well you and I have always agreed on this issue lol

I think the other thing people don’t realise is how in contact sports PEDs are actually needed by some people whose careers might otherways be finished and the research some athletes do in order to understand them.

I know of one pro level MMA guy who spent months trying to recovery from a shoulder injury who became so intimate with PEDS and how they effected the body you could have sworn he was a doctor, he never used them in the end but the temptation for pro level guys to use them to recover from the injuries they come to have is huge

People come up with the sports, make bigger and bigger demands on the athletes who compete them complain about HOW they get to the end point the fans demand……retatred

As for PEDs being taken by people wanting to look like their idol, well how stupid must you be to willingly take all the risks of something for non or the rewards?

[sanjuro_ronin]

Well you and I have always agreed on this issue lol

I think the other thing people don’t realise is how in contact sports PEDs are actually needed by some people whose careers might otherways be finished and the research some athletes do in order to understand them.

I know of one pro level MMA guy who spent months trying to recovery from a shoulder injury who became so intimate with PEDS and how they effected the body you could have sworn he was a doctor, he never used them in the end but the temptation for pro level guys to use them to recover from the injuries they come to have is huge

People come up with the sports, make bigger and bigger demands on the athletes who compete them complain about HOW they get to the end point the fans demand……retatred

As for PEDs being taken by people wanting to look like their idol, well how stupid must you be to willingly take all the risks of something for non or the rewards?

Indeed we do agree my friend :)
As for why some risk without the real rewards, the answer is simple:
Pu$$y and admiration from their "peers".

[Syn7]

Its a hard call to make dude.
Knowing a few high level athletes in various sports I know the demands that are imposed on them to be at that level.
Either you walk away or you adapt.
The thing is that IF it was "above board" those that are winning NOW would still be the ones winning.
Performance enhancers is a misnomer, the correct term should be recovery enhancers because that is really the main thing that they do to "enhance" the performance.
They allow a athlete to train harder, longer and get to where he WOULD be anyway but quicker.
You do NOT get to be a world or Olympic champ because of them, but they do allow you to get there faster.
And that is really the issue.
Add to that the factor that if one guys does it the only way to "even the playing field" is for others to do it.
The issue I have is NOT the high level guys are doing it but that idiots at the recreational level are doing it and thinking that they can make it to the elite levels ( they can't).
You even have guys doing it just to look good and kick ass at the local, low-level competitive venues.
Sad really.
In the regard to those that do it and are doing it for recreational and image reasons then YES, I agree with you view 100%, it is totally about insecurities, inferiorty complexes and just being really dumb.

We are in a very sad state when we abuse ourselves long term for immediate gains. Whether it comes from internal or external pressures it's still an unhealthy attitude IMO and goes against the very notion of sportsmanship.

So yeah, some pro is loosing it and they are afraid of loosing face, paper, whatever and they go juice. Not cool. I feel sorry for these people, in a way.

As far as recreational users. lol. whatever. They are just as guilty without the financial pressure. That makes them even more weak, IMO.

Steroids are a very serious problem and are just a small sliver of a much larger issue of north amerian systemic pharma-abuse. We are taught from day one to take medicine to feel better. And that's cool, but most people don't have physical fitness drilled into them quite as well. That's why we have a nation with a large chunk of very unhealthy citizens on the pain killer maintenance program. And don't even get me started on the self perpetuating pharmasuetical/psychological industry. 10% applicable, 90% cash grab. Uggh. No wonder kids grow up, get insecure and juice up just to be able to compete at a high level. Everyone else is doing it, what choice do they have, right?

[Syn7]

If you are earning 10 million dollars a film, using the best PEDs you can find just makes sense, if you are a pro level athlete looking to recover better so you can train harder and become a champion (sherk anyone) it can makes sense, to think taking dodgy PEDs sold out of your gym backroom will make you the next pro UFC champ IS retarted

And to be honest offer me a £10 million contract and tell me I need to take PEDs id say yes, which baseball blayer was it that started them all off taking steroids and said hey I have a full time doctor to look after me, the best PEDS in the world and it helped me earn £20million or so, what’s wrong or dangerous about that?


As for the widespread use of PEDS in MMA, well in a sport where you need to train at least 5 days a week and probably multiple sessions each day to get good at 3 different disciplines as well as work conditioning and strength, who the feck honestly thinks you can do that without either freaky genes or PEDS

Even quality physician supervised PED's are getting way out of hand. Alot of the blame is on the physicians and therapists. Sure an M.S. patient could use a boost to help them walk or whatever, but a well tuned athlete is far better off in the long run to take a more natural approach. But even then, PED's aren't evil or anything. PED use is ok sometimes, but PED abuse is a huge problem for pro's and wannabees alike.


Well let's just see how all these well tuned machines are feeling at 65, if they get that far. A few will be tip top, but most will be hurting wrecks. If you value $ over health then by all means. And I'm sure there's a healthy balance between the two, but most people miss the mark IMO. We'll see, I guess. We're already starting to see the ravages of athletes from the 70's and 80's. Like the whole concussion argument. Not good man.

[sanjuro_ronin]

We are in a very sad state when we abuse ourselves long term for immediate gains. Whether it comes from internal or external pressures it's still an unhealthy attitude IMO and goes against the very notion of sportsmanship.

So yeah, some pro is loosing it and they are afraid of loosing face, paper, whatever and they go juice. Not cool. I feel sorry for these people, in a way.

As far as recreational users. lol. whatever. They are just as guilty without the financial pressure. That makes them even more weak, IMO.

Steroids are a very serious problem and are just a small sliver of a much larger issue of north amerian systemic pharma-abuse. We are taught from day one to take medicine to feel better. And that's cool, but most people don't have physical fitness drilled into them quite as well. That's why we have a nation with a large chunk of very unhealthy citizens on the pain killer maintenance program. And don't even get me started on the self perpetuating pharmasuetical/psychological industry. 10% applicable, 90% cash grab. Uggh. No wonder kids grow up, get insecure and juice up just to be able to compete at a high level. Everyone else is doing it, what choice do they have, right?

Well...the issue of "everyone else is doing it what choice do I have" is a very REAL one for ANYONE that wants to compete at the highest levels.
Lets be clear about soemthing:
High level spots competition has very little to do with "health) ( although of course every athelete wants to be healthy) and very little to do with longevity AFTER the sport ( and more to do with longevity withing the sport).
Pro athletes are jacked up, in EVERY sport ( if not on PE then on pain killers of some sorts).

That this type of mentality is filtering down to low level and even recreational sports is logical since those area are filled with "failed superstars" and with "wannabe superstars".

[Syn7]

Well...the issue of "everyone else is doing it what choice do I have" is a very REAL one for ANYONE that wants to compete at the highest levels.
Lets be clear about soemthing:
High level spots competition has very little to do with "health) ( although of course every athelete wants to be healthy) and very little to do with longevity AFTER the sport ( and more to do with longevity withing the sport).
Pro athletes are jacked up, in EVERY sport ( if not on PE then on pain killers of some sorts).

That this type of mentality is filtering down to low level and even recreational sports is logical since those area are filled with "failed superstars" and with "wannabe superstars".

Yeah I know. It's very disfunctional and very sad. It's unfortunate that there's nowhere for the real deal to compete and make real paper. So few people can do it without the help. I imagine a few do, but how many really? not that many.

Peer pressure is a b1tch, no doubt. A hard fact of life. But it's still a weakness. I know alot of juicers. It's too bad, it changes the way they think. It's really sad. I have personally never seen anyone get back what they lost from the use. Long term loss for temporary gains. Seems like a common strand in the fabric of life, doesn't it!?!? And maybe it makes sense financially to a very small minority, but that mentality filters down to weaker minds who will never see any real monetary gains from juicing. Pain killers too. Dope up and push thru the pain, that's GENIUS:rolleyes: How many guys ruin what's left of a limb or whatever for "just one more season". Too many pro's missed the lesson on graceful exits. Of course it wouldn't be fair to just lump everyone into one pile. Everyone has their reasons. But generally, essentially, the story is pretty much always the same.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Yeah I know. It's very disfunctional and very sad. It's unfortunate that there's nowhere for the real deal to compete and make real paper. So few people can do it without the help. I imagine a few do, but how many really? not that many.

Peer pressure is a b1tch, no doubt. A hard fact of life. But it's still a weakness. I know alot of juicers. It's too bad, it changes the way they think. It's really sad. I have personally never seen anyone get back what they lost from the use. Long term loss for temporary gains. Seems like a common strand in the fabric of life, doesn't it!?!? And maybe it makes sense financially to a very small minority, but that mentality filters down to weaker minds who will never see any real monetary gains from juicing. Pain killers too. Dope up and push thru the pain, that's GENIUS:rolleyes: How many guys ruin what's left of a limb or whatever for "just one more season". Too many pro's missed the lesson on graceful exits. Of course it wouldn't be fair to just lump everyone into one pile. Everyone has their reasons. But generally, essentially, the story is pretty much always the same.


Word.
But such is life.

[GeneChing]

Thought I'd share it...


CRIS CYBORG
SIGNS MULTI-FIGHT DEAL WITH
INVICTA FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

POUND-FOR-POUND SENSATION TO FACE
SUBMISSION ACE EDIANE GOMES AT INVICTA FC 5
AT AMERISTAR CASINO HOTEL KANSAS CITY APRIL 5

WINNER FACES NO. 1 RANKED MARLOES COENEN

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (February 15, 2013) –Pound-for-pound great and devastating featherweight (145 pounds) KO artist Cris Cyborg (10-1, 1 NC) of Curitiba, Brazil has signed a multi-fight agreement with women’s world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion Invicta Fighting Championships, it was announced tonight on “Inside MMA” on AXS TV.

Cyborg will make her Invicta FC debut against streaking submission ace and Unified Women’s Professional MMA Rankings world No. 2 featherweight Ediane “India” Gomes (10-2) of Coconut Creek, Fla. via Sao Paulo, Brazil at the promotion’s highly-anticipated, world championship doubleheader event at Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City on Friday, April 5.

The winner of the matchup between Cyborg and Gomes will square off with world No. 1 ranked featherweight superstar Marloes Coenen at Invicta FC 6, on a date to be announced.

Gomes’ original Invicta FC 5 opponent, Julia “The Jewel” Budd (4-2) of Port Moody BC, Canada, will now face rising star Fiona Muxlow (6-2) of Townsville, Queensland Australia on the April 5 card.

“We are thrilled to welcome Cris Cyborg, arguably the top pound-for-pound female fighter in the world, to our rapidly growing roster of world-class athletes,” said Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp. “Cris’ incredible performances in front of national TV audiences over the last few years have helped put women’s MMA on the radar of the masses and paved the way for others to establish themselves in the sport.”

The 27-year-old Cyborg is universally recognized as the most devastating striker in the women’s field of MMA fighters, pulverizing her way to 8 (T)KO victories since making her pro debut in 2005.

Cyborg took her career to new heights in a main event showdown with superstar rival Gina Carano on Aug. 15, 2009, quickly overwhelming and stopping Carano with a barrage of punches in the first round (4:59) of their meeting to become the first-ever Strikeforce women’s world champion in history. The long-awaited fight set a new viewership record for MMA on premium cable channel SHOWTIME.

“I am excited to finally get back in the cage and to have the opportunity to fight for Invicta Fighting Championships, which has shown a tremendous amount of commitment to furthering the growth of women’s MMA,” said Cyborg. “I will be ready on April 5 for Ediane and I plan to dominate my competition as I’ve done in the past.”

Amongst the other top flight opponents Cyborg has conquered during her reign of terror are submission wizards Coenen, Shayna Baszler and Hitomi Akano.

Tickets for Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson go on sale soon.

In the main event, reigning Invicta FC Atomweight (105 pounds) Champion Jessica Penne (10-1, 1 NC) of Huntington Beach, Calif. will defend her crown against superstar Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson (10-3) of Albuquerque, N.M. and, in the co-main event and first-ever Invicta FC flyweight (125 pounds) title fight, submission ace Vanessa Porto (15-5) of Sao Paulo, Brazil will square off with red-hot star Barb Honchak (7-2) of Bettendorf, Iowa.


About Invicta Fighting Championships:

Invicta Fighting Championships (www.invictafc.com) is a world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp and sports aficionado Janet Martin, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible matchups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport.

[Syn7]

I could be wrong, but I just can't see her being as good without the juice. I never really saw her as a technical genius or anything. She more or less walked through people. Not much finesse there at all.

[jesper]

A few years ago I read an interesting report (will try and see if I can find it again).

Basicly the conclussion was that 65% of the top athletes they had researched on would willingly take a drug, garanteed to make them win the olympics but with the side effect they would die within 10 years after.

[bawang]

this is one of the reasons i dont have a passion for mma. i like to watch it, i like its concept, but its very cold to me, i feel it lacks humanity.


PEDs doesnt just build muscle, it also harden your hands and body. to me the journey of training is the most important. if someone skips that journey, they are worthless.

[David Jamieson]

If everybody cheats, then let them and just don't call it "fair sport" anymore.

Call it whatever you want, but don't let people have the impression that these people are doing anything natural or beneficial. Because they aren't, they are in essence cheating and are not reflecting the ability of a human.

I think it's rife in almost all professional "sport" now. It has effectively ruined many sports because the accurate and true reflection of human capability isn't there when people are constantly and consistently cheating by using drugs to do something they would not be able to do otherwise.

[Frost]

this is one of the reasons i dont have a passion for mma. i like to watch it, i like its concept, but its very cold to me, i feel it lacks humanity.


PEDs doesnt just build muscle, it also harden your hands and body. to me the journey of training is the most important. if someone skips that journey, they are worthless.
Is it any difference than the old timers using herbal medicines and animal bones to harden the hands and body and accelerate healing? Was that cheating as well?
PEDs are mainly used to help recovery between training sessions and most importantly help recovery from the injuries they sustain.
Its not like you take them and boom you are a big muscled MMA star you still need to put te training in
Guys like sean sherk were training 6 days a week, twice a day working on striking, wrestling, submissions S and C etc, its nuts to think most of them aren't taking anything to be honest
They all want an edge be it creatine, beta alunine, extra protein, use of high altitude chambers, blood doping or PEDS, the only difference is some things are on the banned list and some aren’t, and how that list was arrived at and why things were banned is a strange process

[gunbeatskroty]

They all want an edge be it creatine, beta alunine, extra protein, use of high altitude chambers, blood doping or PEDS, the only difference is some things are on the banned list and some aren’t, and how that list was arrived at and why things were banned is a strange process

That is true. I just saw a good documentary arguing for the use of steroids. Pretty interesting. The guy brings up students routinely taking Adderall as academic enhancement drugs and such.

Lots of low level Pro fighters takes steroids as there's less or zero testing there. Many don't even make more than a few hundred dollars per fight. But it's tough to keep losing.

[gunbeatskroty]

this is one of the reasons i dont have a passion for mma. i like to watch it, i like its concept, but its very cold to me, i feel it lacks humanity.


PEDs doesnt just build muscle, it also harden your hands and body. to me the journey of training is the most important. if someone skips that journey, they are worthless.

Just your take on it I guess. Some people train MA to be fighters, some for fitness, some for their Asian fetishes, etc. All valid.

Martial Arts is merely a tool for me while to some, it's a way of life.

[GeneChing]

Still relevant?

Despite win, Cyborg still at risk in Invicta (http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/17471/despite-win-cyborg-still-at-risk-in-invicta)
April, 6, 2013 2:28 PM ET
Dundas By Chad Dundas
ESPN.com

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0405/mma_e_santos_b1_576.jpg
Cyborg SantosDave Mandel/Sherdog.comHow long before Cristiane Santos grows bored -- or, even worse, loses -- while with Invicta FC?

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos needed to accomplish two things on Friday at Invicta FC: defeat Fiona Muxlow and look like a reasonable facsimile of her old self while doing it.

Not necessarily in that order. At least not in terms of degree of difficulty.

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The victory was vital, I suppose, but it was also never really in doubt. In practice, the fight turned out to be as lopsided as it looked on paper, which is to say the win was so one-sided that it was almost completely hollow for the former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion.

Santos dropped Muxlow with her first punch, a straight right that put the replacement fighter, who took the bout on 17 days’ notice, skittering into the frenzied survival mode we so commonly see in Santos' opponents. The rest was essentially cleanup. It took referee John McCarthy 3 minutes, 46 seconds to decide he’d seen enough, but each tick of the clock after that initial salvo felt more gratuitous than the previous. By the time the end came for Muxlow, she was backed up against the cage accepting a series of increasingly inevitable knees and punches and the overriding feeling that swept over us all when Big John stepped in was one of relief for her.

For Santos, we felt only a vague sense of confirmation. Yep, she’s still Cyborg.

Proving that Santos is still the most bloodcurdling figure in women’s MMA was the really essential thing here, because, after nearly 16 months of inactivity owed to a yearlong suspension for a positive steroid test, there were questions about whether she would show up in Kansas City looking as ripped, as relentless and altogether frightening as before. More to the point, because Cyborg still being leaps and bounds ahead of the competition is an integral part of manager Tito Ortiz’s plan to run the longest of long bombs on the UFC.

When Santos and Ortiz very publicly balked at the chance to cut to 135 pounds for an immediate shot at Ronda Rousey’s bantamweight title back in February, instead opting for a much slower burn in Invicta, it prompted copious industry-wide head-scratching. One of those heads belonged to UFC President Dana White, who alternated between describing the Santos-Ortiz negotiating style as “wacky” and “goofy” and then proclaimed Cyborg “pretty much irrelevant” when talks finally appeared to fall apart for good.

Ortiz claims Santos needs a multifight run in Invicta to gradually shed the pounds necessary to safely make the cut to 135. Maybe that’s true, but the perils of this route are obvious. What if something goes wrong, we all asked when the deal was announced. What if she emerges in the Invicta cage looking like something less than the terrifying knockout artist who cut a swath through women’s MMA during seven fights from 2008-11? What if she -- choke, sputter, gasp -- loses?

"She ain't gonna lose …," an ever-confident Ortiz told MMAJunkie.com's Ben Fowlkes when he put voice to these concerns at the time. "You ever sparred with Cris? You ever tried to wrestle with her? Ever watched her wrestle, watched her spar? Have you ever watched her fight?"

Yeah, well, point taken. Never did Ortiz’s long-term plan for Santos’ career feel like less of a gamble than while we were watching her brutalize Muxlow. Granted, the 35-year-old Australian’s prospects were doomed from the moment she agreed to sub in for the injured Ediane Gomes last month, but it must have been reassuring for Ortiz & Co. to get proof that Cyborg can still deal with an overmatched opponent with the kind of extreme prejudice we saw from her against the likes of Jan Finney and Hiroko Yamanaka near the end of her Strikeforce run.

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0406/mma_g_santcoene_300.jpg
Santos/CoenenEsther Lin/Getty ImagesA rematch with Marloes Coenen, facing, should shed more light on where Cristiane Santos stands in her return to the cage.

While not a particularly instructive affair, we’re now told the victory sets Santos up for an Invicta 145-pound title bout with Marloes Coenen later this year. Coenen will no doubt be a far more dangerous opponent, albeit one Santos already defeated back in January 2010 and one who had been competing at bantamweight prior to debuting in Invicta. If Cyborg wins that, she’ll have a shiny new belt to match Rousey’s, and it’ll start to feel more and more like Ortiz’s gamble might just pay off after all, giving Santos time to drop the weight while only stoking the fires of interest in a Rousey bout.

Still, let’s not kid ourselves here. Santos and Ortiz are taking tremendous risks each time Santos steps into the Invicta cage. They are still involved in the kind of clunky, long-range scheme that very seldom pays off in a sport this unpredictable.

If you strip away the veneer of dominance and the fearsome power, Cyborg has exactly one thing going for her right now: There are only two real stars in the landscape of female MMA, and, as of this weekend, she’s still one of them. Rousey and the UFC need her (and by extension, Ortiz) as much as the fighter and manager need the fight promotion and its golden girl. Rousey versus Santos is the one truly marketable superfight in women’s fighting at the moment, and no matter how big the honchos at the UFC talk, they’ll still be interested in it if and when Santos decides she’s ready.

But that delicate balance of power evaporates immediately should Cyborg make a misstep in Invicta. All it takes is one lucky punch or a momentary mental lapse on the ground and, suddenly, she’s not the perfect foil for Rousey’s good looks and slick submission game anymore. Suddenly, she’s just a former champion with a positive steroid test and a reputation for difficult negotiations.

If we’ve learned anything from MMA, it’s that the thing that “ain’t gonna” happen, often does, and, afterward, the people who wind up on the short end wish they’d grabbed the brass ring when they had the chance -- instead of putting it off for another day.
I would love to see an MMA circuit where everyone was on steroids. Just imagine how awesome that would be. ;)

[hunt1]

I would love to see an MMA circuit where everyone was on steroids. Just imagine how awesome that would be.



You have. Watch the old UFC tapes, start with Severn era through Kerr and Colman and up to I would guess 2009 or so.

[GeneChing]

You have. Watch the old UFC tapes, start with Severn era through Kerr and Colman and up to I would guess 2009 or so. I always say the early UFCs were the best ones. :)

[Vash]

Still relevant?

I would love to see an MMA circuit where everyone was on steroids. Just imagine how awesome that would be. ;)

You mean PRIDE FC?

[GeneChing]

Maybe I should watch more PRIDE FC. Honestly, I've only checked out highlights from that league.

[Lucas]

cyborg should fight that tranny

[GeneChing]

OK, bro, with a comment like that, you can be the lipstick lesbian forum mod, if we ever launch such a forum. :p

[Lucas]

HELL YA!!!! I'll hold you to that until the end days.

[GeneChing]

Whaddya mean NSFW? These are safe. Tame really...


New Cris Cyborg photo shoot – NSFW (http://www.mymmanews.com/new-cris-cyborg-photo-shoot-nsfw/)
22 Dec, 2014 Eric Kowal MMA News

http://www.mymmanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/4.jpg

Former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion and the current Invicta FC World featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino did a photo shoot in Las Vegas, under the direction of Larissa Almeida Reis for her HardCoreReis brand and it unlike any that the champ has ever done.

Reis, 35, is a Brazilian IFBB professional figure competitor, fitness model, actress, and owner of a restaurant, Protein House restaurant, in Las Vegas.

“Larissa is my friend, and for some years I have always admired her work as an athlete and model,” explained Cris in her blog. “She has many fans around the world, I feel very privileged to be representing one of your Hardcoreis brands. Not much my thing do this kind of photos but I was very happy with the result.”

http://www.mymmanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/1.jpg
http://www.mymmanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/23.jpg
http://www.mymmanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/31.jpg
http://www.mymmanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/5.jpg

[Stickgrappler]

Generally not crazy about her 'roided look, but those pix aren't that bad


Thank you Ching sifu!

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUPbRV0lj2w

[GeneChing]

Finally, Cyborg (http://www.ufc.com/fighter/Cris-Cyborg) makes UFC. She fights Leslie "The Peacemaker" Smith in Curitiba, Brazil. My money is on Cyborg for that.

[GeneChing]

Thu Dec 22, 2016 | 6:29pm EST
Mixed Martial Arts: 'Cyborg' Justino in possible doping violation (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mixed-martial-arts-ufc-cyborg-idUSKBN14B2JI)

Top-ranked female mixed martial arts featherweight Cris "Cyborg" Justino has been informed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) of a possible doping violation, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) said on Thursday.

The UFC said in a statement it was formally notified that USADA told Justino of a potential anti-doping policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on Dec. 5.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC's anti-doping policy, would handle "the appropriate adjudication of this case," the UFC said, adding that a full review process was assured under the policy before any sanctions may be imposed.

Justino last fought on Sept. 24, stopping Lina Lansberg in the second round as part of a UFC Fight Night event in her native Brazil.

The 31-year-old (17-1) previously tested positive for an anabolic steroid in December 2011, which she blamed on a diet supplement she received from a former coach.

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Time to head over to WWE (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49901-Mma-amp-wwe)?

[GeneChing]

Holly Holm doesn't have her own indie thread here yet so I'm posting this on Cyborg's. Any predictions? Anyone going to watch?

UFC 219 (http://www.ufc.com/event/UFC-219#/fight)

I met Cyborg once, many years ago, but only fleetingly in the audience of a fight. Didn't get a selfie. :o

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLZwZX39FXU

[GeneChing]

Actually, all of those classical ancient Roman marble statues were originally painted. I've seen some recreations in museums. It is rather hideous. :o


Curitiba mayor orders removal of Cris Cyborg mural (https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/3/26/17164124/curitiba-mayor-orders-removal-mural-cris-cyborg)
By Guilherme Cruz@guicruzzz Mar 26, 2018, 11:00am EDT

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3FVJA_OGVtKh-2pYD34snNLt9LQ=/0x0:1440x807/920x613/filters:focal(665x363:895x593):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59160183/cyborg_mural.0.jpg
A mural was painted in Cris Cyborg's honor prior to UFC 198 in 2016. Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Cris Cyborg had a cool mural in her hometown of Curitiba, Brazil, even before she became the UFC featherweight champion, but the mayor has decided to take it down.

The art, located at the Afonso Botelho square, was painted right before Cyborg’s UFC 198 win over Leslie Smith in May 2016. The pay-per-view event took place at the Atletico Paranaense soccer stadium, right next to the mural.

Rafael Greca, who became mayor of Curitiba in January 2017, has decided that it was time to remove the mural.

Greca believes that a piece of white marble shouldn’t be painted, and said the monument has been “restored.”

”The temporary, precarious mural, painted on marble, was deteriorated,” Greca told MMA Fighting as to why he decided to “clean” the monument. Greca is not against painting another mural in tribute to the fighter, he said, but not over the marble. “On a regular wall, of course,” Greca said.

Cyborg, who recently defeated Yana Kunitskaya to defend her featherweight championship in Las Vegas, wasn’t happy with Greca’s decision.

”It’s not deleting my image in the square that my story goes out,” Cyborg wrote to MMA Fighting. “There is no way to erase the main play where I am marked, the heart of my fans and followers. That’s the most important thing.

”If the mayor of Curitiba does not support an athlete who represents the city, imagine what happens with other athletes. It’s a shame. The right thing to do is to motivate young people to practice sports.”

Back in 2016, Cyborg used the mural as background for one of her shots at Ronda Rousey, who had lost her UFC bantamweight title to Holly Holm a few months before.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=39&v=JXyBZBNZ3BE

[GeneChing]

CRIS CYBORG
I'D FIGHT RONDA ROUSEY IN WWE (http://www.tmz.com/2018/07/24/cris-cyborg-fight-ronda-rousey-wwe/)
7/24/2018 12:10 AM PDT
Cris Cyborg Says She's Open To Fighting Ronda Rousey In WWE
EXCLUSIVE

GIVE 'EM WHAT THEY WANT
TMZSports.com
Ronda Rousey vs. Cris "Cyborg" Justino -- the super fight that never happened -- could still be a possibility ... just not in the UFC.

TMZ Sports talked to Cyborg at the airport in L.A. on Sunday ... and asked her about the possibility of finally facing her rival after years of trash talk ... and battling Ronda in the WWE.

"Some fans ask me, 'Cris, do you like to make a fight with Ronda Rousey in WWE?'" Cyborg tells us, "I say 'Maybe, ya don't know. Maybe.' It's not something I plan. But if fans would like to watch, I need to train for that, but, ya know, it's gonna be great."

Cyborg was actually complimentary of Ronda ... telling us she's seen Rousey do her thing in the WWE ... and thinks she's kickin' ass in the squared circle.

"I watch a couple things Ronda's doing there, and I think she's doing great."

Justino also breaks down her plans to box in the future ... and explains why Conor McGregor is a trailblazer.

THREADS:
Christiane "Cyborg" Justino (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62823-Christiane-quot-Cyborg-quot-Justino)
Ronda Rousey (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?63565-Ronda-Rousey)

[GeneChing]

Morning Report: Dana White goes after Cris Cyborg: ‘Dealing with her has been a nightmare’ (https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/8/7/20757450/morning-report-dana-white-goes-after-cris-cyborg-dealing-with-her-has-been-a-nightmare)
By Jed Meshew@JedKMeshew Aug 7, 2019, 8:00am EDT

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XD7-xumWEZshRPvm0zIOBoJw1pc=/0x0:1920x1280/920x613/filters:focal(807x487:1113x793):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64928482/301_Dana_White.0.0.jpg
Dana White Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

The saga continues.

Dana White and Cris Cyborg have been publicly feuding for months, but with UFC 240 in the rear view, Cyborg is now officially finished with her UFC contract. But so ready to be done with Cyborg was White that he released her from her contractual matching period last weekend, saying that the UFC was out of the Cyborg business. In turn, Cyborg noted how happy she was to be done with the UFC and White’s “big ego.” Normally, one would expect that to be the end of the beef. Well, not exactly.

At a media scrum following Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series (video courtesy of The Mac Life), Dana White was asked about Cyborg and went off on the former featherweight champion.

“Just a lot of things,” White said when asked why he released Cyborg early. “Dealing with her has been a nightmare the entire time she’s been here, and I said the other day in the interview with Laura, there was a lot of controversy bringing her in in the first place at that time. And when I did the interview with Laura, we really didn’t mention the whole her lying on the video about what I said. Her [air quotes] production team [air quotes] lying about what I said on the video. It’s just been a bad experience dealing with Cyborg from day one.

“We brought her in after she tested positive for steroids and got done with that. We made her a clean athlete with the best drug testing policy in all of sports the entire time she was here. Which, when she talks about her legacy and her [air quotes] brand [air quotes], her legacy and her brand, nothing is better than knowing that she’s a clean athlete after testing positive for steroids and all the negativity that surrounded her about being a dirty athlete.

“We bring her in here, we do all this stuff, and she was just never happy. Never happy, complaining about everything. She was a nightmare to deal with it and at the end of the day, she knows, I know, Amanda Nunes knows, I tried to make that Nunes fight and she doesn’t want it. She doesn’t want it and she gets mad when I say I don’t blame her - I DON’T BLAME HER! Because if that was Amanda Nunes last Saturday I think everybody can agree what would have happened in that fight.

“So she’s unhappy, we’re unhappy, she lies and does that thing, - see you later, have a nice life.”

White and Cyborg have been quietly feuding for years, but it recently boiled over in advance of UFC 240. White repeatedly told the media that he wanted to make a Cyborg vs. Nunes rematch instead of Cyborg’s bout with Felicia Spencer but that Cyborg was refusing to fight Nunes again. Cyborg, in turn, took umbrage with her boss throwing her under the bus instead of promoting her upcoming fight and also disputed White’s claims. Things reached a crescendo when after UFC 240, Cyborg released a video of her backstage encounter with White, but the video was doctored to make it appear White said certain things he did not say. Afterward, Cyborg apologized for the video and blamed the incident on her production team but White isn’t ready to accept that.

“I don’t think there’s any peace between me and Cyborg,” White said. “Whether you like me or don’t like me, whatever your opinion of me doesn’t matter, what she did was dirty. Dirty what she did with the video and meanwhile she’s running around saying she better get an apology from me. Yeah, I got an apology from her because what she did is one of the dirtiest things. It had to kill her to apologize to me but what she did is one of the dirtiest things that you can do to somebody. That’s why she apologized.”

But White maintains that even that is something they could overcome for the sake of business. After all, White said, he worked with many fighters who didn’t like him - including Mark Hunt while Hunt was suing him and the UFC - but he kept fights moving right along. The issue with Cyborg, White said, is that the fight to make is one that she will never accept, despite her public posturing that it is the fight she wants.

“She doesn’t want to fight Amanda Nunes,” White said. “You guys and the fans need to get it into your head that she did everything she could, including doctoring a video lying about what I said, to avoid fighting Amanda Nunes. The fans and the media need to just get it through your heads that all that sh*t was going on - ‘Oh he’s bullying me.’ Bullying you? You’ve been here for five years, what are you talking about? You’re talking about stuff that happened five years ago. It was all a smoke screen to not fight Amanda Nunes. She doesn’t want that fight otherwise we wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now. I’ve had problems over the last 20 years with plenty of fighters, from Tito Ortiz to Mark Hunt to God knows who else, we always made fights. She doesn’t want to fight Amanda Nunes.”

Cyborg, for her part, has vehemently maintained that the only fight she wants is the Nunes fight as it is the best for her legacy. She even had a Cyborg vs. Nunes 2 shirt made that she donned post UFC 240. However, White says he’s ready to put his money where is mouth is. If Cyborg really wants the fight, she can have a one-fight deal for the rematch. But White says that still won’t get it done.

“If I’m lying, she can call tomorrow and we’ll make that fight,” White said. “She will not call tomorrow and that fight will not be made because she does not want to fight Amanda Nunes. She won’t take the fight. SHE WON’T DO A ONE-FIGHT DEAL! SHE WILL NOT FIGHT AMANDA NUNES! SHE WILL NOT FIGHT AMANDA NUNES ON A HALF A FIGHT DEAL! Amanda Nunes will knock her out again in the first round. I know it, you know it, and she knows it and she will not do that fight. Period.”

After hearing this from White, Cyborg’s Twitter account tweeted that a conversation between White and her management team will take place today, however that tweet has since been deleted. Meanwhile, White says the UFC women’s featherweight division is going to keep on trucking without Cyborg and that, realistically, the UFC doesn’t even need her as they already have the best 145er in the world.

“Amanda’s gonna defend both titles just like she always did,” White said. “Cyborg leaving doesn’t matter. We know who the best fighter in the world is at 135 and 145, it’s Amanda Nunes. She had the opportunity for her legacy, Cyborg’s legacy, to get that fight again and she doesn’t want it. So we will continue to bring in the best fighters in the world and put them in against Amanda Nunes.”



Cris Cyborg Youtube
✔
@criscyborg
Once I discovered what had been done by production I could not wait to apologize. I have prayed many times that one day myself and @danawhite could talk face to face about our differences and find a way to move on. I am never too proud to offer an apology. https://twitter.com/bokamotoespn/status/1158927894443220992 …


Brett Okamoto
✔
@bokamotoESPN
“It had to kill [Cyborg] to apologize to me. She did because what she did (with the doctored video) is one of the dirtiest things you can do. Fans and media need to get it though their heads she did not want to fight Amanda Nunes.” — Dana White

188
8:10 PM - Aug 6, 2019
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39 people are talking about this


THREADS
Christiane "Cyborg" Justino (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62823-Christiane-quot-Cyborg-quot-Justino)
Dana White (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?47174-Dana-White)

[GeneChing]

Biggest contract ever given to a woman. Gotta give her cred. She's got more longevity than pretty much anyone else in the game.




Cyborg signs deal to move from UFC to Bellator (https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/27530386/cyborg-signs-deal-move-ufc-bellator)
play
1:17 PM PT
Marc Raimondi
ESPN Staff Writer

Cris Cyborg has signed with Bellator MMA after a messy three-year run with the UFC.

One of the best women's fighters in the history of the sport is now under a multiyear, multibout contract with Bellator, promotion president Scott Coker announced Tuesday on Twitter. Coker wrote that it was the biggest contract ever given to a women's MMA fighter.

Cyborg, whose real name is Cris Justino, accompanied Bellator's announcement with a video message to her fans on Facebook.

"My goal is to become the only female fighter to hold four different major titles in the same division," said Cyborg, who has already held the women's featherweight title in the UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC.

The final fight on Cyborg's UFC contract came against Felicia Spencer at UFC 240 in July, a bout Cyborg won via unanimous decision. The fighter and UFC president Dana White have had a long history of butting heads, and White said in the aftermath of that bout the UFC was out of the Cyborg business. The UFC waived its 90-day exclusive negotiating window with the Brazilian knockout artist, making her a free agent.

Cyborg, who is No. 3 pound-for-pound among women in ESPN's MMA rankings, won the UFC women's featherweight title by beating Tonya Evinger by third-round TKO at UFC 214 in July 2017. She dropped the belt to Amanda Nunes, also the UFC's women's bantamweight champ, at UFC 232 last December via first-round knockout. That defeat was Cyborg's first in 13 years, since her pro MMA debut in 2005.

From 2005 until 2018, Cyborg was the most dominating and fearsome force in women's mixed martial arts. Justino, now 34, went undefeated and won 17 of 20 victories by finish. Cyborg has beaten the likes of Holly Holm, Marloes Coenen and Gina Carano. Historically, she has also been one of the best-known women's MMA fighters in the world, drawing solid numbers on television and pay-per-view.

"I have worked with countless athletes over my 30-plus years of promoting combat sports, but there is no one quite like Cyborg," said Coker, who promoted Justino with Strikeforce. "Her ability to excite the crowd from the moment she makes her walk to the cage is special, and having had the pleasure of promoting several of her fights in the past, I am looking forward to the opportunity of promoting her once again. Cyborg is the most dominant female fighter in the history of the sport and she will be a perfect fit here at Bellator, where champion Julia Budd and the other women that make up best female featherweight division in the world have eagerly awaited her arrival."

Cyborg was brought into the UFC in 2016 at a catchweight of 140 pounds. She had competed previously at 145 pounds, a more natural weight. The idea at the time was to set up a fight between Cyborg and Ronda Rousey, but it never materialized. Cyborg was too big to get down to Rousey's 135-pound weight class, and Rousey departed the UFC later in 2016.

Cyborg and the UFC had an embattled relationship even before Cyborg was under contract. In 2014, White infamously made fun of Cyborg for her appearance at an MMA awards show, saying she looked like male fighter Wanderlei Silva in a dress. Cyborg took it as White saying she looked like a man; White has said that he was making a comment on Cyborg's past history with performance-enhancing drugs. Cyborg tested positive for a steroid and was stripped of her Strikeforce title in 2011.

After Nunes beat Cyborg last December, White repeatedly said Cyborg did not want a rematch, which Cyborg vehemently denied. Meanwhile, Cyborg said she felt the UFC never truly built out a women's featherweight division in which she could compete, which was a valid criticism.

On Ariel Helwani's MMA Show in July, Cyborg said she wanted a public apology from White as a condition of her re-signing with the UFC.

"Of course, he has to apologize," Justino said. "I think he has family, he has kids. ... I don't know if he has a heart, but I think one thing he's doing is not just touching me, because he doesn't like me. He's touching the people around me, he's touching my family. It's not right."

The rocky relationship came to an end in earnest after UFC 240 when Cyborg's team posted a doctored video online that inaccurately quoted White in subtitles while talking to Cyborg backstage in Edmonton, Alberta. Cyborg apologized on social media, but White said in an interview on the UFC's YouTube channel that the promotion was done with Cyborg.

"I'm going to release her from her contract and I will not match any offers [she receives]," White said. "She is free and clear to go to Bellator or any of these other promotions and fight these easy fights she wants. Done. Done deal. I will literally, today, have my lawyer draft a letter to [Justino's team saying] that she is free and clear."

In the Bellator release announcing her signing, it makes note of the promotion's healthy women's featherweight division, including Budd, who has won 11 straight.

[GeneChing]

There's a vid behind the link.



Cris Cyborg stops Julia Budd, makes history with Bellator title win (https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/28565500/cris-cyborg-stops-julia-budd-makes-history-bellator-title-win)
Jan 25, 2020
Marc Raimondi
ESPN Staff Writer

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The shots came fast and with ferocity from Cris Cyborg. A knee. A left hand to the head and a right to the body. A hard right kick to the legs. Again and again. Before long, it was over.

It was that kind of long combination, thrown with maximum force, that made Cyborg one of the most feared fighters -- man or woman -- in MMA history. And 15 years into her storied career, she landed another vintage, historic finish.

Cyborg defeated Julia Budd by TKO at 1 minute, 14 seconds of the fourth round Saturday night in the main event of Bellator 238 to win the Bellator women's featherweight title at The Forum. Cyborg completed an unprecedented MMA grand slam, becoming the first fighter to win titles in the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce and Invicta FC.

"I feel really happy to have the opportunity to make history," Cyborg said. "This is gonna be cool. The only fighter to win four titles [in those different organizations]. It just means we don't quit. I had a lot of downs, good times in my career. But I don't quit. It made me strong."

In December 2018, in the same Los Angeles-area building, Cyborg was knocked out by Amanda Nunes to lose her UFC women's featherweight title. On Saturday, she exorcised those demons, clad in purple and gold in the former home of the Showtime Lakers.

"I was not sad. I feel like everything happens for a reason," Cyborg said of the loss to Nunes. "If I did not lose the belt that today, I would not be here now, champion of Bellator. And here, I'm happy. [In the UFC], I was not happy."

Cyborg, one of the best women's MMA fighters of all time, was making her Bellator debut after departing the UFC in August. Budd had won 11 straight coming in and had not lost since 2011 against Ronda Rousey.

Budd was game until the end. She was able to outmuscle Cyborg at times in the early rounds. By the third, though, Cyborg had seized control. She finished that round in full mount, raining down blows. And in the fourth, the Brazilian buzz saw let loose with a ridiculous combo that started with a knee and effectively ended with a body shot that crumpled Budd to the canvas. It was a brutal display of aggression, the likes of which fans who have followed Cyborg's career have become familiar with.

Cyborg (22-2, 1 NC) has now finished 18 of her 22 victories by KO/TKO. Her only loss since 2005 was the knockout via Nunes. She was unable to come to terms with the UFC for that rematch before ending up with Bellator. Cyborg, 34, owns wins over former UFC champion Holly Holm, former Invicta champion Tonya Evinger and women's MMA pioneers Gina Carano and Marloes Coenen.

Budd (13-3) had won seven straight in Bellator. The British Columbia native had been Bellator women's featherweight champion since 2017. Budd, 36, has lost to only three women in her MMA career: Cyborg, Rousey and Nunes.

"I'll be back stronger," Budd said.

Cyborg's final UFC fight came at UFC 240 on July 27, 2019. Her contract expired with that bout, and UFC president Dana White told UFC.com days later that the promotion no longer wanted to be "in the Cris Cyborg business." Cyborg's relationship with the UFC was dysfunctional from the start, with Cyborg accusing White and UFC brass of bullying and Cyborg's team doctoring a video after UFC 240 that inaccurately quoted White in subtitles.

Cyborg apologized for the latter incident, but the damage was done. She signed with Bellator in September. Scott Coker, who is now Bellator's president, promoted Cyborg a decade ago while with the now-defunct Strikeforce.

According to the California State Athletic Commission, Cyborg made a guaranteed minimum of $250,000 at Bellator 238, while Budd took home a minimum of $350,000.

In the co-main event of Bellator 238, Darrion Caldwell defeated Adam Borics via rear-naked choke submission at 2:20 of the first round in a Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix quarterfinal matchup.

Caldwell will now meet A.J. McKee in the semifinals of the tournament on a date that has yet to be determined.

Caldwell (14-3), 32, is a former two-time Bellator bantamweight champion and a former NCAA wrestling champion. The New Jersey native has won two in a row and six of his past eight fights.

Borics (14-1), 26, a native of Hungary, was undefeated coming in, with five straight Bellator wins.