Gina Carano vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos

Share on Facebook posted 08-16-09 by craigmacnee

Pretty no match for Power

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Aug. 15, 2009) — In the most highly anticipated fight in the history of women’s mixed martial arts, Cris Cyborg delivered a convincing 4:59, first-round TKO over Gina Carano in front of an amped 13,524 fans at the HP Pavilion. By winning, Cyborg, of Curitiba, Brazil, earned the first-ever Strikeforce Female 145-pound Championship title belt.

The historic match, composing of five five minute rounds instead of the usual three, and the first women’s main event to headline a major MMA card, started off at a furious pace with Cyborg, 24, threatening Carano, 27, early with a flurry of strikes and a leg lock following a takedown. Unruffled, Carano answered with a takedown of her own but then gave up a dominant position on top of Cyborg a little too easily. And in the contest of technicality versus power, Carano had little answer for Santos’ indefatigable aggression. Carano, perhaps struggling to acclimatize with the change to five minute rounds, began to tire and Cyborg, a member of Brazil’s famed Chute Boxe fight squad, seized her opportunity with a keylock from which the Las Vegas native narrowly managed to escape. However, now backed against the wall of the cage, with Cyborg towering over her, Carano could do little to protect herself against a volley of around 20 heavy punches in as many seconds. And as the last strikes rained down, Carano curled up in the fetal position, making no attempt to counter, forcing the ref, Josh Rosenthal, to interject and stop the fight a second before the bell for the first round sounded.

The poster girl of MMA’s pretty features, as well as her spirit, had taken a significant beating, but Cyborg,   clearly ecstatic with her win, was nothing but gracious thanking “the fans for all the support I have always received, and to Gina for giving me this opportunity.’’

A comprehensive victory then, for the Brazilian, and one that never really looked in doubt. The fight exposed the dramatic difference in physical strength between the number 1 and 2 ranked women in the world and Carano has some work to do in the gym before any potential re-match. The question for fans now must turn to which women can step up to the plate and offer her a more credible challenge. Indeed, the twitterverse and blogosphere soon moved on to a debate about whether Cyborg could actually beat a male 145-pound MMA fighter? On this evidence, it wouldn’t seem to be a mis-match.