Cyborg Santos Suspended for Steroids

Strikeforce women's featherweight champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos is regarded by many to be the best female fighter in the world, but her career is now put on hold due to a positive drug test. Her last fight, a first-round knockout win over Hiroko Yamanaka, has been turned to a "No Decision."

A press release of the test results from the December 17 Strikeforce event revealed Santos had indeed tested positive for a banned substance.

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The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has suspended the license of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Cristiane Justino Santos, better known in MMA circles as Cris Cyborg, and has fined her $2,500 as the result of a positive test for a banned substance.

Santos' December 16, 2011 drug test came back positive for stanozolol metabolites. CSAC learned of the test results December 23, 2011 and suspended Santos's license, with the suspension applied retroactively to December 16, 2011. In accordance with Rule 368, the result of her last fight between Hiroko Yamanaka will be changed to a "No Decision".

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Full press release available at bloodyelbow.com.

With a career record of 10 victories and one loss, Santos had put herself in the front of the female MMA world as one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport. Her last five fights all ended by knockout, including wins over Gina Carano, Marloes Coenen, Hitomi Akano and Jan Finney.

Having only fought three times since the end of 2009, it will be a while before Santos is able to get back in the cage with a legitimate opponent. With the positive drug test result and license suspension, she may get an even longer break from competing.