Cris Cyborg

She later signed to fight for Strikeforce,[23] 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.[25] She defeated Akano by TKO in the third round.[26]

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.[27]

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.[28] 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.[29] She won the fight via TKO at 3:40 of round 3.[30]

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated that the next challenger for Cyborg would most likely be Erin Toughill.[31] However, Toughill later announced her intentions to leave Strikeforce and plans for the fight were cancelled.[32]

On April 7, 2010, Coker stated that Cyborg would fight again in June.[33] She faced Jan Finney at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum[34] and won the fight via KO in the second round.[35] Her contract with Strikeforce expired on June 26, 2011. She renewed her Strikeforce contract on August 25, 2011.

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.[36] 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.[37]

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.[38] However, Gomes suffered an injury and Cyborg instead faced Fiona Muxlow.[39][40] Cyborg was successful in her return, winning the bout via TKO in the first round.[41][42]

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.[43][44] She defeated Coenen by TKO in the fourth round to become the first Invicta FC featherweight champion.[45][46]

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.[47][48][49] She had initially been set to fight Martina Jindrova but Jindrova withdrew with injury.[50][51]

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.[52][53][54] 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.[55]

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.[56]

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.[57][58]

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.[59] She won the fight by TKO in the first round.[60]

Cyborg faced promotional newcomer Lina Länsberg in a catchweight (140 lb) bout on September 24, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 95.[61] The referee stopped the fight midway through the second round after Länsberg could not effectively defend herself.[62]

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.[63][64] 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.[65]

In March 2017 Cyborg vacated her Invicta featherweight title and called out Germaine de Randamie for the belt targeting UFC 214 in Anaheim, California.[9][10] The match fell apart since Germaine de Randamie refused to fight, stating that Cyborg was a proven drug cheater and she was willing to get stripped of the belt for not fighting Cyborg.[66] De Randamie was stripped of her belt on June 19, 2017, by UFC[67] 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.[68][69] On June 27, Anderson pulled out of the fight due to personal reasons and was replaced by current Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion Tonya Evinger.[70] Cyborg won by TKO in the third round to claim her first UFC championship.[71]

In the first defense of her title and the first fight of her new four-fight contract, Cyborg faced Holly Holm on December 30, 2017, in the main event at UFC 219.[72] She won the fight via unanimous decision.[73] This win also earned her her first Fight of the Night bonus.[74][75]

Cyborg faced former Invicta bantamweight champion, Yana Kunitskaya, on March 3, 2018, at UFC 222 for her second featherweight title defense.[76] Cyborg won the fight by TKO in the first round.[77] After the win, she gave out 222 burgers to Los Angeles' homeless, as her way of celebration.[78]

Cyborg faced the reigning UFC Women's bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes, for the UFC Women's Featherweight Championship on December 29, 2018, at UFC 232.[79] Nunes defeated Cyborg by knockout early in the first round, handing her the first knockout loss in her MMA career.[80]

Cyborg faced Felicia Spencer on July 27, 2019 at UFC 240 in the co-main event.[81] She won the fight via unanimous decision.[82]

Following the fight against Spencer, which was the last fight on her contract, UFC president Dana White announced that the UFC would not negotiate a new contract with Cyborg, and they would waive her three-month exclusive negotiating period. This allowed her to immediately begin negotiations with other organizations.[83]

On September 3, 2019, it was announced Cyborg had signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA.[8]

Cyborg faced Julia Budd for the Bellator Women's Featherweight Championship on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Inglewood, California Bellator 238.[84] She won the fight via technical knockout in round four.[85]

For the fight with Budd, Cyborg trained in South Africa with trainers Richie Quan, Boyd Allen, and Martin Van Staden. Her and her team's goal for the camp was to train for well-roundedness and to be ready for anything.[86]

After winning her fourth World Championship, Cyborg has stated she would like to make an attempt at a belt in boxing.[87]

In the first defense of her title, Cyborg faced Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 249 on October 15, 2020.[88] She won the bout via second round submission, earning the first submission of her MMA career.[89]