After she destroyed most of the males in our strongman camps......
rikeforce star Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos will lose her 145-pound women's title after testing positive for a steroid, her employer said Friday.
Drug tests related to a Dec. 17 championship bout with Hiroko Yamanaka revealed the presence of stanozolol metabolites in the urine sample provided by Santos, the California State Athletic Commission announced Friday. The test result means a $2,500 fine and a suspension of Santos' license to fight in California.
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State regulators changed the outcome of Santos-Yamanaka to a no-contest. The fight originally was a first-round technical knockout for Santos, who returned from a layoff that lasted almost a year-and-a-half.
Losing Santos for another lengthy period might not change much for Strikeforce, which had difficulty finding challengers for her. The suspension of Santos "pretty much" ends the 145-pound division, said Dana White, president of Strikeforce parent company Zuffa.
"We were going to hold that division and just do fights with 'Cyborg' whenever there was a new contender," White said Friday during a radio interview with ESPN 1100 Las Vegas. "She's getting stripped of the title. I don't know. We'll see what happens."
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker had a more measured response in a prepared statement:
"Strikeforce has not seen the test results regarding Ms. Santos. However, we have a consistent and strong stance against any use of performance-enhancing drugs. We also have a long history of supporting effective drug testing of athletes by authorized regulatory bodies.
"Therefore, we will closely monitor the matter and will work with the California State Athletic Commission regarding any information we may be asked to provide. We also recognize that Ms. Santos has administrative process rights under California law and we hope that she is not prejudged before she has the opportunity to exercise such rights."
Before Friday, Santos had been the most dominant fighter so far in the brief history of women's mixed martial arts outside Japan. The Yamanaka bout's new result marks the first time Santos hasn't officially won in seven U.S. fights.
None of Santos' previous foes in Strikeforce and EliteXC posed much threat to her, and the most notable name remaining at 145 pounds, Ronda Rousey, previously announced plans to drop weight and challenge 135-pound titleholder Miesha Tate.
Santos also indicated she would try cutting to 135 pounds simply to stay busy. It might be a moot point unless she successfully appeals California's penalty. Fighters who test positive for banned substances normally can re-apply for a license after a year.
She isn't the first female fighter to fail a test for banned substances in California. Carina Damm was suspended in May 2008 after testing positive for Nandrolone.
A few titleholders for notable organizations have been suspended over the past several years after testing positive for banned substances, including Josh Barnett, Tim Sylvia, Sean Sherk and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. Other notable fighters who ran afoul of testing regimens include contenders Hermes Franca and Chael Sonnen, as well as Vitor Belfort, Ken Shamrock, Alexandre Franca Nogueira, Nate Marquardt, Chris Leben and Royce Gracie.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/mma/post/2012-01-06/california-cyborg-santos-tests-positive-for-steroid/598139/1
