East Side Boxing Forum - Strikeforce talking to ex-champ Cristiane 'Cyborg' Santos about drop to bantamweight

Quote:

by Steven Marrocco on Aug 08, 2012 at 5:05 pm ET
The one-year suspension of Cristiane 'Cyborg' Santos (10-1 MMA, 4-0 SF) ends in mid-December, and Strikeforce officials are already looking at her next move.

It's a possible move down in weight to the bantamweight division, where next week's winner of champ Ronda Rousey vs. Sarah Kaufman could await.

"We'll have to talk to [Santos] at that time and see what her interest is as far as going down in weight," Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker today told MMAjunkie.com ([Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]). "I know it's something that (Strikeforce matchmaker) Sean (Shelby) has had dialogue about, fighting at 135."

Santos was stripped of the Strikeforce featherweight (145-pound) title one month after a post-fight drug test at "Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal" turned up positive for stanozolol metabolites in late 2011.

The California State Athletic Commission, which oversaw the event, suspended Santos for one year and fined her $2,500. Additionally, her first-round TKO of Hiroko Yamanaka was also overturned to a no-contest.

An attempt by Santos in April to appeal the decision was unsuccessful. Her suspension runs until Dec. 16 of this year.

The fighter has fought just once in the past 26 months after a string of dominant wins that included her title-winning first-round TKO of Gina Carano in August 2009.

Coker cautioned that Santos' move is not confirmed.

"We'll have to wait until after she gets off suspension to have a serious conversation with her," he said.

Rousey and Kaufman declined to speculate on a possible bout with the ex-champ, and said they are solely focused on their upcoming bout, which headlines "Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman" on Aug. 18 at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego. The event airs on Showtime and Showtime Extreme.

:lol: Must have been a good stack she was on. Looks like she's shrinking...