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Cristiane Cyborg Santos

January 7, 2012 by · Comments Off on Cristiane Cyborg Santos 

Cristiane Cyborg SantosCristiane Cyborg Santos, As Luke Rockhold and Keith Jardine prepare to duel for Strikeforce’s middleweight title on Saturday in the first event of the organization’s new deal with Showtime, a dark cloud has been cast over the promotion.

One of its biggest stars, women’s champion Cristiane (Cyborg) Santos, has been suspended one year and fined $2,500 after a failed drug test following her win over Hiroko Yamanaka on Dec. 17, according to reports.

The California State Athletic Commission told MMAjunkie.com that Santos, who defeated Yamanaka by first-round TKO, tested positive for stanozolol metabolites from a sample taken the day before their championship bout in San Diego. She has the right to appeal the ruling.

In the meantime, the victory has been changed to a “no-contest” and UFC president Dana White later said that Santos, currently the most dominant female fighter in the world, would be stripped of her 145-pound belt.

Meanwhile, Rockhold (8-1) defends his 185-pound crown for the first time in the main event of Saturday’s show in Las Vegas against former UFC light-heavyweight Keith Jardine, who’s making his debut at the lower weight class. Rockhold, who is on a seven-fight win streak, defeated Ronaldo (Jacare) Souza to capture the title in September. Jardine (17-9-2) fought to a draw against Gegard Mousasi last April.

Both fighters made weight on the number Friday. All other fighters were on target, except for undercard competitor Nah-Shon Burrell, who was one pound heavy for his welterweight clash with James Terry but was able to shed the extra weight after he was given an extra hour.

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