Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino
Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino in 2009.
Cristiane Justino Venancio (formerly as Cristiane Santos) (born July 9, 1985), commonly referred to by her nickname Cyborg, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and the former Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion, the current Invicta FC World Featherweight Champion and currently signed with the UFC. Justino won the Strikeforce title on August 15, 2009, by defeating Gina Carano via first-round TKO.[2][3][4] She lives in San Diego where she trains and teaches at The Arena.
Venancio was a national-level team handball player in Brazil before being discovered by Rudimar Fedrigo, a Chute Boxe Academy trainer.[5]
She made her anticipated United States MMA debut on July 26, 2008 against Shayna Baszler at EliteXC: Unfinished Business.[6] She won the fight by TKO in the second round.[7]
She faced Yoko Takahashi on October 4, 2008 at EliteXC: Heat. She won the fight by unanimous decision.[8]
Justino 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.[9] Justino earned a BJJ Purple Belt under her jiu-jitsu instructor Cristiano Marcello in 2009.[10]
She later signed to fight for Strikeforce,[9] which greatly increased the chance that a fight with Gina Carano would take place. In her Strikeforce debut, Justino faced Hitomi Akano on April 11, 2009 at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz. Justino came in six pounds overweight for the fight. Akano originally rejected the fight due to Justino failing to make weight but later accepted the fight.[11] Justino defeated Akano by TKO in the third round.[12]
Before the fight with Carano, Justino was interviewed by mmaworldwide.com's reporter Aaron Tru. When asked how long it would take to submit Carano with a choke hold, Justino choked the interviewer out cold, in a matter of seconds.[13]
Justino fought Gina Carano on August 15, 2009 at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg for the Women's Featherweight Championship. Justino won via TKO at 4:59 of the 5:00 first round.[14] The card was the first time that a major promotion had featured a main event between women. After the match, Justino hugged Carano, and stated in her interview that she had the utmost respect for Carano, and that it was an honor to fight her.
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