jakkups
04-13-2009, 09:41 AM
CYBORG VS. CARANO: "DESERVES TO BE MAIN EVENT" (http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=8570&zoneid=13)
Cris "Cyborg" Santos continued her current winning streak on Saturday night by wrecking Japanese fighter Hitomi Akano in the third round of their bout at Strikeforce on Showtime. While the win was dominant, the questions for Santos after the fight all seem to focus on two things.
Weight cutting and Gina Carano.
The biggest problem that Cyborg faced before the scheduled fight with Akano was making the agreed upon 145-pound weight limit. Originally coming in seven pounds over weight, Santos eventually cut enough to make the fight sanctioned under California State Athletic Commission rules, but still the unreasonable amount of weight left a lot of people asking questions after the fight was over.
Santos already had a clear advantage size wise over her much smaller opponent, who was a 128-pound champion in Japan. But regardless of the infraction, Cyborg says it was an isolated incident and will not happen again.
"This is the first and the last time," Santos said after the fight about missing weight. "It's a promise."
Immediately after the weight issue was put to bed, the questions came in quickly about a possible match-up against women's superstar Gina Carano. Santos was fast to point out that fighting Carano would be a test, but she didn't need extra motivation to train harder for Akano.
"I train a lot for any opponent, and if Gina is on her way, I would fight Gina with pleasure," Santos stated. "I would prepare for Gina the same way that I would prepare for any opponent."
Strikeforce president and CEO Scott Coker said during the post-fight press conference that negotiations are still under way to sign Carano to a deal with the promotion.
In addition to that, Coker added that he hopes a fight between Carano and Cyborg could take place in August, and be for the first ever Strikeforce women's title. Nothing was settled on the location of the potential bout, and Coker was unsure if the fight could end up on Showtime or CBS.
The one big thing that was settled about the fight between Santos and Carano is the status the bout would hold on a Strikeforce card.
"That's a fight that deserves to be main event," Coker said addressing the media in attendance.
Strikeforce will continue to work and close a deal with Carano and the biggest fight in women's MMA history can finally be put together.
Cris "Cyborg" Santos continued her current winning streak on Saturday night by wrecking Japanese fighter Hitomi Akano in the third round of their bout at Strikeforce on Showtime. While the win was dominant, the questions for Santos after the fight all seem to focus on two things.
Weight cutting and Gina Carano.
The biggest problem that Cyborg faced before the scheduled fight with Akano was making the agreed upon 145-pound weight limit. Originally coming in seven pounds over weight, Santos eventually cut enough to make the fight sanctioned under California State Athletic Commission rules, but still the unreasonable amount of weight left a lot of people asking questions after the fight was over.
Santos already had a clear advantage size wise over her much smaller opponent, who was a 128-pound champion in Japan. But regardless of the infraction, Cyborg says it was an isolated incident and will not happen again.
"This is the first and the last time," Santos said after the fight about missing weight. "It's a promise."
Immediately after the weight issue was put to bed, the questions came in quickly about a possible match-up against women's superstar Gina Carano. Santos was fast to point out that fighting Carano would be a test, but she didn't need extra motivation to train harder for Akano.
"I train a lot for any opponent, and if Gina is on her way, I would fight Gina with pleasure," Santos stated. "I would prepare for Gina the same way that I would prepare for any opponent."
Strikeforce president and CEO Scott Coker said during the post-fight press conference that negotiations are still under way to sign Carano to a deal with the promotion.
In addition to that, Coker added that he hopes a fight between Carano and Cyborg could take place in August, and be for the first ever Strikeforce women's title. Nothing was settled on the location of the potential bout, and Coker was unsure if the fight could end up on Showtime or CBS.
The one big thing that was settled about the fight between Santos and Carano is the status the bout would hold on a Strikeforce card.
"That's a fight that deserves to be main event," Coker said addressing the media in attendance.
Strikeforce will continue to work and close a deal with Carano and the biggest fight in women's MMA history can finally be put together.