It took her most of four rounds, but the result was the same for Cristiane Santos (nee Venancio), as she walked through her opponent Marloes Coenen to win the Invicta 6 featherweight title.
On Saturday night, in a packed hall in Kansas, she showed just why she is regarded as the No. 1 female MMA fighter in the world.
Although it was a much more measured performance from the one time Strikeforce champion, it was one that reestablished her as a women’s MMA star.
She was dominant over Coenen, whom she last beat in 2010, on the feet and on the ground. When the two last fought, they were fighting for the Strikeforce belt, which ‘Cyborg’ won and defended twice, before being stripped of it for testing positive for anabolic steroids.
In the rematch, it was Coenen‘s tenacity that saw her carry the fight beyond the third round this time. The fight was eventually stopped by Joe McCarthy four minutes into the fourth round, as Cyborg sat in the mount position raining punches down on Coenen.
With this win, Cyborg stretches her undefeated streak to 11 fights. Only Ronda Rousey, the UFC’s bantamweight champion, has been as dominant in her division (she now holds seven straight wins, all in the first round). And as they both continue to stretch their undefeated run, the question is whether a “superfight” between the two can ever materialise.
Check out the video below.
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