Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos Leaving Strikeforce, Vacates Women's 145 Pound Title

Another tough blow was dealt to the struggling sport of women's mixed martial arts, as Cage Potato reports that torch-bearing Strikeforce 145-pound women's champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos will no longer be with the organization. 

According to the report, the dominant champion is now a free agent after failing to come to an agreement on a contract extension with the now Zuffa-owned Strikeforce promotion. The deadline for an extension ran out on June 28, and her official ties to the organization are now non-existent.

"Cyborg" last competed over a year ago when she destroyed a top contender in Jan Finney, defending her Strikeforce women's middleweight champion while also earning Sherdog.com's "Beatdown of the Year" award in the process.

Initial speculation indicates that Zuffa was either unwilling to give Santos what she and her representation believed she is worth or that they have decided entirely against promoting women's mixed martial arts in the future, even under the Strikeforce name, which has helped the sport grow so much over the past couple of years.

Of course, the latter wouldn't be much of a surprise. UFC President Dana White has said many times that he doesn't believe that women's mixed martial arts is worth bringing into the UFC and seemed disinterested with the whole concept. 

According to the source, Cris is already in discussions with another, unnamed promotion and hopes to have a contract negotiated as early as this weekend. Her manager Rudimar Fedrigo commented on the situation, telling TATAME.com that, "We're still negotiating, the financial part is the point, but, meanwhile, she's set to fight in Brazil and is negotiating two more fights in Singapore."

There have also been past rumors, which were shot down because of her Strikeforce contract, that she was considering a run in the WWE. 

Cris' husband, Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, remains under contract with Zuffa through Strikeforce.