Cris "Cyborg" Santos is one of the most tenacious fighters in the history of women's MMA. Simultaneously one of the greatest and most aggressive fighters in women's MMA history, she's been a pro since 2005 and has been a wrecking ball all along the way. A former Strikeforce and UFC champion, she's currently fighting Bellator where she's gone 3-0 and captured the featherweight title in that promotion as well.
While Cyborg is known as one of the greatest fighters of all time, there are still lots that fans don't know about the fighter herself when it comes to who she is out of the cage.
10 Cyborg's First Sport Was Handball
Unlike many fighters, Cyborg didn't train in martial arts as a child and didn't do it growing up. Cyborg was playing handball at a national level in Brazil and had actually earned multiple college scholarships as a result.
It was Cyborg's success playing handball that got her noticed by trainers in the popular Chute-Box MMA gym, which led to them convincing her to give MMA a try. The rest is history.
9 She Lost Her Debut Fight
A small known fact about Cyborg is that not everything came easy for the future champion. At the age of 19, Cyborg made her debut in 2005 against jiu-jitsu ace Erica Paes.
Unfortunately, Cyborg went on to lose via first-round submission kneebar to Paes, becoming one of the best and most notable fighters throughout history to lose their first bout.
8 She Was One Of The Women's MMA Pioneers
Cyborg is one of the few fighters around today that was influential in getting women's MMA popular. While fighters such as Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey get the bulk of the credit for the popularity of women in the sport, Cyborg was right there with them.
Cyborg had been fighting on the regional scene from 2005 onwards, which makes her one of the longest active women fighters in the sport.
7 Her Fight With Gina Carano Was Huge
Cyborg had been on a seven-fight win streak in 2009 when she was matched up with fellow superstar Gina Carano for the women's featherweight title in Strikeforce. The fight was the first time that women headlined a major MMA event, and they also got five-minute rounds which to that point, was rare.
At the end after a back and forth first round, Cyborg got a TKO win in the last second of the first frame, capturing the featherweight title and retiring Carano in the process.
6 Her Wild Steroids Scandal
Cyborg in 2011 was on top of the MMA world, she had won three straight Strikeforce championship bouts, the last coming in the form of a first-round knockout victory over Hiroko Yamanaka in December. However, Cyborg was soon pulled off her mountaintop, following a drug test failure.
Following her win over Yamanaka, she tested positive for the steroid Stanozolol which led her to be stripped of her title. She also was suspended for one year as well, and by the time her suspension was over Strikeforce had closed. Years later, fighters such as Ronda Rousey and Germaine De Randamie would use the fact that Cyborg had taken the steroids as a reason not fight her.
5 Her Invicta Stint
Following Strikeforce's closure, Cyborg wasn't going to be touched by the UFC. With that in mind, there were few options for Cyborg to turn so she took her talents to the Kansas City-based Invicta promotion.
Cyborg's run in Invicta has been lost to history, but it was actually quite good. She went 5-0 in the promotion, captured the featherweight title with her biggest win coming over former Strikeforce bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen to win the championship.
4 Her Beef With Dana White Led To Issues Getting Signed To The UFC
The main reason for Cyborg having to fight in Invicta was due to the dislike that Dana White had for Cyborg. This was mainly stemming from Cyborg having tested for steroids during her stint in Strikeforce, and the UFC not having a featherweight championship.
It's worth noting that a lot of dislike that came from Cyborg's end was due to White making lots of personal attacks against her, notably saying that she "looked like Wanderlei Silva in a dress and heels".
3 The UFC Signed Her In An Effort To Make Bantamweight
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Cris Cyborg was signed to UFC in 2015. The move was a big one and many thought that the signing meant the UFC was going to open a featherweight division. However, the UFC had different plans.
The UFC set Cyborg's debut for 140 pounds, and then another follow-up bout at the same catchweight. The main reason being that the UFC was planning on having Cyborg try to make 135 pounds, but after Cyborg notably had health issues making the 140 catchweight, the UFC decided to have her fight at featherweight instead.
2 Her Altered Conversation With Dana White Led Her To Bellator
Following Cyborg's victory over Felicia Spencer at UFC 240, she was trying to get a rematch with Amanda Nunes following her defeat to her the previous year. While White didn't seem that interested, Nunes still met with White after the bout and a videographer for Cyborg caught the private conversation with the two.
Nunes then uploaded the video online, with the video having been altered and subtitles changed. While Cyborg later admitted fault and apologized, White quickly turned down the apology and said he was out of the Cyborg business.
1 She's The Only MMA Grand Slam Champion
Cris Cyborg made history with her victory over Julia Budd to claim the Bellator world featherweight title in 2020. Cyborg then became the only fighter, male or female to become what it is known as a "Grand Slam" champion.
The term means that Cyborg was champion in four different major promotions, the promotions being Bellator, UFC, Strikeforce, and Invicta. It's a stat that only exemplifies how good Cyborg is, and how she stands apart from all of her peers.