(Video courtesy of YouTube/cardosopro)
If you’ve never seen the video above, it’s like the double rainbow in that it’s possibly the only time you’ll ever see Cris “Cyborg” lose and also the only instance, at least in our vast memory, of an MMA bout being won by double-kneebar.
The fighter Cyborg lost to, Erica Paes — a world BJJ champion who trained alongside the likes of the Nogueira brothers, Ricardo Arona and Murilo Bustamate at Brazilian Top Team at the time — got knocked out in her next bout and retired with an official 1-1 pro record.
Although she hasn’t fought since and has since traded in her MMA gloves for a microphone and a guitar, the aspiring Brazilian singer recalls the 2005 win vividly as it happened in the midst of the famous Chuteboxe-BTT rivalry.
“I never worry about how strong my opponent is. When I saw Cyborg, who was enormous, I thought, ‘I do not care. I train with Minotauro Nogueira.’ It was wonderful,” she recalls. “We do the move a lot in training. I got within range, took her to the ground, made a mistake, and she got up. She did what I love, came up to kick me, then I grabbed her legs so I could apply a leg lock and finished with the double-kneebar.”
Cyborg has not lost since and has grown physically as a fighter, both in stature and experience. Unfortunately her legacy as the world’s best female fighter of all time will forever be tainted by her positive steroid test and subsequent suspension.
If you have the time tonight, make sure to listen to Joe Rogan’s live podcast stream starting at 7:00 pm ET to hear what a medical hormone expert has to say about the whole Cyborg “tainted supplement” situation.