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At UFC Fight Night 95 in Brasilia, Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino defeated Lina Lansberg via TKO in the second round of the fight. Justino dominated the bout against the Swedish newcomer and left ‘Elbow Princess’ Lansberg no chance. Media could not stop praising ‘Cyborg’ the days after the fight and handles her as possibly ‘the best women’s fighter to ever grace the cage’:
‘Cris Cyborg did not diminish the awe and wonder surrounding her. If anything, she enhanced it.’
‘It’s like a performance art piece in which someone promises to destroy something beautiful at the end.’
‘It seems like dodging taxes and cheating death might be easier than surviving a title fight with the best female fighter on the planet.’
Cris ‘Cyborg’ shows a record of 17 wins in her career, of which 15 were knock outs. Only in Justino’s first fight as a professional in May 2005, she was defeated - by Erica Paes via Submission. Since 2008 none of the Brazilian’s fights went to distance and moreover, since she beat Marloes Coenen for the second time in July 2013, not a single one of her opponents made it out of round two.
Currently Justino is ranked no. 20 in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings and is holding the Invicta FC featherweight belt. Also she was former Strikeforce women’s featherweight world champion, a title ‘Cyborg’ won in August 2009 when she defeated Gina Carano via TKO in the first round.
Cristiane Justino Venancio, who today lives and trains in San Diego, was born on July 9th in 1985 in Curitiba-Parana in the south of Brazil, where she also started her sporting career. Justino played handball in a national-level team in Brazil before she was discovered by Rudimar Fedrigo from Chute Boxe Academy.
Cristiane Justino who also earned herself a purple belt in BJJ has fought for Strikeforce, which was later integrated in the UFC and Invicta Fighting Championships. In August 2009 ‘Cyborg’ won the headlining Strikeforce bout against Gina Carano and took the belt. Prior the fight journalist Aaron Tru asked Justino how long it would take to submit Carano with a choke hold – ‘Cyborg’ did not waste any time and took out the interviewer in seconds.
Justino was married to fellow MMA fighter Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos and ‘adopted’ his nickname. Although the marriage did not last – the couple split up in 2011 – the nickname stuck. Today Cristiane Justino is in a relationship with former MMA fighter Ray Elbe.
Cris ‘Cyborg’ continued her winning streak last Saturday night but apparently it was very hard for her to make 140 pounds and Dana White does not want to add a 145-pound weight class anytime soon. Justino declared she will only face a top 10 fighter next - it remains unclear what or rather who is next to come for the fighter.
