Santos Crushes Carano to Earn Strikeforce Title
She was introduced last night as “The Baddest Woman South of the Equator,” but Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos can now claim the northern hemisphere as well.
Santos dominated Gina Carano last night to become the first Strikeforce women’s lightweight champion at 145 pounds in the biggest women’s MMA fight ever in North America. Santos’ first-round victory left no doubt who the best women’s mma fighter in world is now.
The card from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California drew 13,000-plus fans, and those fans saw a one-round title fight from the major players where Santos moved Carano around the cage at will and landed the harder and more accurate shots.
Carano fans might take acception to the way the fight ended – Santos pounding their hero into near unconsiousness with only an instant left in the round – but it was over without doubt. Referee Josh Rosenthal stopped the match just as the horn sounded to end the round and it was a mercy call. It seemed highly unlikely that Carano could have answered the bell in time for the start of the second round as she was clearly woozy.
Carano will still be a star, as well she should, and a rematch is almost certain to be in the offing given the media buzz the fight generated, but unless there’s a major turnaround in the way the two principles fight, the outcome will still be the same. Santos owned Carano in every department and was never in serious trouble.
The crowd booed Santos, now 8-1 when she was introduced, and fell into near silence as she was interviewed after the fight. You have to wonder whether the Santos victory, legitimate and overpowering as it was, is a good thing for women’s mma in this country. Having a champ who speaks only Portugese is a major limitation to the depth of Santos’ appeal, and though it’s a little sad that it’s the case, it is…
Santos pressed the pace throughout the round and seemed to gas the smaller Carano as the fight entered the third minute. The match actually seemed even early with Carano landing some accurate but seemingly ineffective shots, but Santos took over late and groudn out a clear win. Carano failed to comment after the match to the SHOWTIME crew citing orders from her doctor.
Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker said his promotion now has plans for a Japanese-style which includes 135 and 145 pound divisions by the end of this year.
“We’ll start with eight fighters,” said Coker. “The winners would go to a second show, where we’ll have the semifinals and finals. The winner of the tournament would become the top contender for Cyborg.” Coker said.
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