Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos showed that tonight she can do something better than a few of the men in the UFC. She can beat her opposition and do it well.
After beating Hiroko Yamanaka, who stepped into the cage at 12-1 with an eight-fight win-streak tonight, she showed that she is deserving of a slot in the MMA pound-for-pound list.
Some fans might roll their eyes at this, but the fact is that Santos was able to crush her opponent in 16 seconds.
Her opponent wasn’t a pushover, too. Yamanaka hadn’t padded her record before facing the champ. Instead she faced and beat the impressive Hitomi Akano who had been the last person to defeat her.
The only arguments that might be made against Santos for her inclusion on the coveted pound-for-pound list is that her opposition is lacking.
But that isn’t her fault and she shouldn’t be penalized for an underwhelming amount of talent when she has taken fights against fighters from other weight classes. She has done what she needed to every time out to show that she deserves to be recognized as one of the best MMA fighters in the world.
The other reason is a little darker: She is a woman.
It is depressing, but the truth is that female combatants don’t get the same respect that their male counterparts do.
She could have beaten every single female fighter on the planet not only in MMA but in boxing as well and there is a good chance she still wouldn’t have made it into the top 10 rankings.
It is embarrassing and it is something that needs to be fixed.
Santos has earned a coveted spot on the pound-for-pound list and though it might be on the lower edge, because of her opposition and not her gender, she still deserves it.
Because everything she earned has been in the cage as it should be.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com