Tweet
Four who can end Cyborg's reign atop Strikeforce
By Maggie Hendricks
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos looked unstoppable in her win over Gina Carano at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg on Saturday. So who can stop her?
The list is short. Cyborg's reign atop the women's division of MMA will likely be long, as she poses many problems for opponents. First, Cyborg, like Carano, fights at 145 lbs. With some of the world's best female fighters, like Megumi Fuji and Tara LaRosa, being much smaller than that, the match-ups between the best fighters won't likely happen. Secondly, her punching power is hard to match. Of her eight wins, six are by TKO.
But there are some who stand a chance in taking the belt away from Cyborg.
Marloes Coenen: The Dutch kickboxer was recently signed by Strikeforce, and was on hand at Saturday's fight in case Carano or Cyborg didn't make weight. At 5'9", 154 lbs., she is one of the few fighters who could neutralize Cyborg's size advantage.
Roxanne Modafferi: With both punching power and jiu-jitsu prowess, Modafferi could be the one to catch Cyborg in a submission, as she has done in three of her 13 wins. Modafferi is also more experience, with 17 fights under her belt. Unfortunately, she fights at 135 lbs., so she would need to put on weight to fight Cyborg.
Gina Carano: With a rematch, Carano would need to try a very different strategy, and that would be defense, defense, defense. Carano has been an entertaining fighter throughout her career because she is so aggressive, but to win, she may need to take a step back. Carano should not engage as much in the first few rounds to tire out and frustrate Cyborg, and then go for the kill in a later round.
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos: No, I'm not saying that the only person to beat Cyborg would be her clone, but as she showed in the Hitomi Akano win, Cyborg can be inconsistent when it comes to weight-cutting and training. She stepped up for the fight with Carano, and to stay champion, she has to do that with every fight. Too many fighters will be gunning for her belt, and she has to stay sharp if she wants to keep it.
Strikeforce has indicated that they will put together a tournament to decide the next challenger for Cyborg. That shows not only their commitment to their own women's division, but to women's MMA. With Cyborg's strength and power at the helm, the future of the sport looks strong.
By Maggie Hendricks
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos looked unstoppable in her win over Gina Carano at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg on Saturday. So who can stop her?
The list is short. Cyborg's reign atop the women's division of MMA will likely be long, as she poses many problems for opponents. First, Cyborg, like Carano, fights at 145 lbs. With some of the world's best female fighters, like Megumi Fuji and Tara LaRosa, being much smaller than that, the match-ups between the best fighters won't likely happen. Secondly, her punching power is hard to match. Of her eight wins, six are by TKO.
But there are some who stand a chance in taking the belt away from Cyborg.
Marloes Coenen: The Dutch kickboxer was recently signed by Strikeforce, and was on hand at Saturday's fight in case Carano or Cyborg didn't make weight. At 5'9", 154 lbs., she is one of the few fighters who could neutralize Cyborg's size advantage.
Roxanne Modafferi: With both punching power and jiu-jitsu prowess, Modafferi could be the one to catch Cyborg in a submission, as she has done in three of her 13 wins. Modafferi is also more experience, with 17 fights under her belt. Unfortunately, she fights at 135 lbs., so she would need to put on weight to fight Cyborg.
Gina Carano: With a rematch, Carano would need to try a very different strategy, and that would be defense, defense, defense. Carano has been an entertaining fighter throughout her career because she is so aggressive, but to win, she may need to take a step back. Carano should not engage as much in the first few rounds to tire out and frustrate Cyborg, and then go for the kill in a later round.
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos: No, I'm not saying that the only person to beat Cyborg would be her clone, but as she showed in the Hitomi Akano win, Cyborg can be inconsistent when it comes to weight-cutting and training. She stepped up for the fight with Carano, and to stay champion, she has to do that with every fight. Too many fighters will be gunning for her belt, and she has to stay sharp if she wants to keep it.
Strikeforce has indicated that they will put together a tournament to decide the next challenger for Cyborg. That shows not only their commitment to their own women's division, but to women's MMA. With Cyborg's strength and power at the helm, the future of the sport looks strong.
Comment