SAN JOSE, Calif. (Aug. 16, 2009) – In the biggest, most important and highly anticipated fight in the history of women’s mixed martial arts, Cris Cyborg registered a brutal 4:59, first-round TKO (punches) over Gina Carano before a raucous 13,524 at HP Pavilion Saturday on SHOWTIME.
For as long as it lasted, the Cyborg-Carano fight was as exciting as it gets. By winning, Cyborg (8-1), of Curitiba, Brazil, earned the first-ever Strikeforce Female 145-pound Championship. Carano, of Las Vegas, fell to 7-1.
The historic, non-stop action match between the two most talented female fighters in the wo
rld was stopped by referee Josh Rosenthal a split second before the horn sounded to end the opening round of a scheduled five-round fight.
When the thrilling proceedings were halted, Cyborg was on top of Carano and had delivered approximately 12 clubbing punches with both hands to Carano’s head.
“I just want to thank the fans for all the support I have always received, and to Gina for giving me this opportunity,’’ said a gracious but ecstatic Cyborg, who is a member of Brazil’s famed Chute Boxe fight squad.
Carano, an underdog in the wagering but clearly a crowd favorite, entered the ring to a deafening roar and the fans’ reaction to her introduction was seemingly as loud as one could possibly be.
The incredibly popular Carano gave as much as she took for the most part, but the aggressive-minded Cyborg proved to be too strong for the popular fighter who was making her first start in eight months.
In other televised fights Saturday on SHOWTIME: Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi (29-2-1) of Leiden, Netherlands, was victorious for the 13th consecutive time, winning his United States debut and the Strikeforce light heavyweight title by destroying defending champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral (35-9) of Los Angeles via Brazil, at 1:00 of the first-round (TKO, strikes).
Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (16-2) of San Francisco by way of Santa Ana, Calif., avenged one of his two losses and retained the Strikeforce interim lightweight belt with a convincing third-round TKO (punches) over Mitsuhiro “Endless Fighter’’ Ishida (18-6-1) of Japan.
Brazil’s Fabricio “Vai Cavallo’’ (12-4-1) Werdum moved closer to a possible world title fight against Fedor Emelianenko with a 1:24, first-round submission (guillotine) over Mike Kyle (12-7-1) of San Jose.
In the second of three Strikeforce world title fights, Mousasi threw a kick but Sobral blocked it and wound up on the ground in a scramble. Mousasi, who was in top position when they hit the ground, quickly unleashed a barrage of punches and that was that, ending Sobral’s five-fight winning streak.
"I am very happy,’’ Mousasi said. “I am willing to fight anybody.’’
Melendez mostly dominated. “The key to this fight was patience and I was patient tonight,’’ he said. “I know what kind of fighter Ishida was, and I knew what I had to do. It’s great to avenge a loss. But I am a different fighter than before.’’
In the opening bout of the telecast, Werdum overcame some early adversity to triumph impressively. “I trained hard and am happy with the result,’’ said Werdum, who resides in Huntington Beach, Calif.
A two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion who owns a victory over current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, Werdum would not be opposed to an immediate crack at Fedor.
Werdum has already defeated one of the Emelianenko brothers. On Nov. 12, 2006, he registered an impressive first round (3:24) submission (arm triangle choke) over two-time Russian National Sambo champion, Aleksander Emelianenko, brother of Fedor
“I would be very happy if Strikeforce wanted to make a fight between Fedor and myself. Fedor is the best in the world and this world be a fantastic opportunity.’’
Photos: Esther Lin/Strikeforce
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