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Ronda Rousey burst onto the women's MMA scene in August of 2010. Born in Riverside County, California on February 1, 1987 to parents Ron Rousey and AnnMaria DeMars, little Ronda was born with an umbilical cord wrapped around her neck that damaged her vocal cords. She didn't speak coherently until the age of six. Ronda was a self-professed tomboy and swam from the ages of 6 to 10. She competed on the Jr. Olympic swim team where she placed in the state level.
Because of her mother, a 7th degree black belt and 1984 World Judo Champion, Ronda took up the sport. She had a hard time socializing with other kids and found that Judo gave her confidence. She holds a 4th degree black belt in the martial art.
Ronda's Judo career is a storied one. At 17 she became the youngest judoka in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. That same year she won a gold medal at the World Junior Judo Championships in Budapest, and in 2006 she became the first U.S. female in almost 10 years to win an A-Level tournament going 5-0 to clench the gold at the World Cup in Great Britain. At 19 she won the bronze medal at the Junior World Championships. She is the first U.S. athlete to win two Junior World Medals. In 2007 she added a silver at the World Judo Championships and a gold at the Pan American Games. The pinnacle of her Judo career was a bronze at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Rousey became the first American to win an Olympic medal in women's Judo since it became an Olympic sport in 1992.
After medaling in the Olympics, Ronda's career hit a dead end. She did some bartending to make ends meet and tried to find a better paying job, but it was tough finding anyone that needed her particular skill set. Throwing people down and putting them in armbars aren't really something you can put on a resume. By chance Ronda caught the Gina Carano vs. Julie Kedzie fight on television and things changed.
She made her mixed martial arts debut as an amateur in 2010. Since then she has never lost a fight, winning the majority in the first round by armbar submission. Ronda took it upon herself to chase after and demand attention so that the UFC could no longer ignore women fighters. UFC President Dana White had publicly stated that women would never be allowed to fight in the UFC, but on February 23, 2013, Ronda did just that. She won the fight against Liz Carmouche in the first round with her signature armbar and became the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion.
In 2014, Ronda appeared in her first motion picture - The Expendables 3 (2014). Other projects are Furious 7 (2015) and The Athena Project as well as Entourage (2015).- Actress
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is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE where she performs in their developmental territory NXT. She formerly trained under former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett.
Baszler gained recognition for her pseudo-chicken wing submission that she has used to defeat many female fighters, including Roxanne Modafferi. In an audio interview with Jordan Breen on the Sherdog Radio Network, she dubbed the submission, which she created in training, as the "Shwing."
Under Billy Robinson, Baszler is the only certified female catch wrestler in the United States. Robinson has contributed immensely in training several mixed martial arts legends including Kazushi Sakuraba and Josh Barnett.
As of January 2015, Baszler is ranked #27 bantamweight female fighter in the world according to Fight Matrix, and #22 according to Tapology.com.
Contents[show] Mixed martial arts career Baszler faced Amanda Buckner at MFC: USA vs. Russia 3 on June 3, 2006. She lost the fight by TKO in the third round.
She faced Samantha Anderson at NFF: The Breakout on March 10, 2007. She won the fight by kimura submission in the first round.
Elite XC Baszler debuted for EliteXC at a ShoXC event on July 27, 2007. She submitted veteran Jan Finney with a first-round armbar and repeated the feat three months later against Jennifer Tate. After defeating Keiko Tamai with an impressive Twister submission at a third ShoXC event, Baszler moved up to the main EliteXC cards.
Baszler next faced Cristiane Justino on CBS television at EliteXC: Unfinished Business on July 26, 2008. She lost the fight via TKO in the second round.
Strikeforce Following EliteXC's closure, Baszler debuted for Strikeforce at Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg on June 19, 2009 in a fight against Sarah Kaufman, but lost by Unanimous Decision.
Baszler entered the Freestyle Cage Fighting Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix at FCF 39 on January 30, 2010 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. She submitted Megumi Yabushita with a twister submission in the first round of their quarterfinal bout. It was the second time that Baszler had won an MMA fight with the unique submission.
Independent Circuit Baszler faced late replacement Alexis Davis in the second round of the FCF tournament at FCF 40 on March 27, 2010. She defeated Davis by unanimous decision.
Baszler was scheduled to face Jan Finney in the tournament final at FCF 43 on June 12, 2010. However, Finney withdrew in order to compete in Strikeforce and Baszler faced Adrienna Jenkins instead.[12] Baszler defeated Jenkins by first-round armbar to become FCF Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix Champion.
On November 19, 2010, Baszler faced Elaina Maxwell at The Cage Inc.: Battle At The Border 7. Baszler defeated Maxwell by submission due to a kneebar in the first round to become the first TCI Women's 140 lbs Champion.
Baszler was scheduled to defend her TCI title in a rematch with Alexis Davis at The Cage Inc.: Battle At The Border 10 on July 30, 2011. However, the fight was cancelled after Davis signed with Strikeforce.
Baszler agreed to face Kelly Kobold in a rematch at Cage Fighting Xtreme: Spring Brawl on April 21, 2012. However, it was announced on March 16 that the event had been cancelled.
Invicta Fighting Championships On April 28, it was announced that Baszler would face Sara McMann in the main event of Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann. The event took place on July 28, 2012. In a back-and-forth affair, Baszler lost the fight in what was considered to be a controversial unanimous decision. The bout was named fight of the night.
Baszler faced Sarah D'Alelio at Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama on October 6, 2012. She defeated D'Alelio via submission due to a rear naked choke early in round two.
Baszler faced Alexis Davis in a rematch at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt on January 5, 2013. She was defeated via technical submission due to a rear naked choke in round three. The bout was named fight of the night.
The Ultimate Fighter In August 2013, it was announced that Baszler was one of the fighters selected to be on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate. In her fight to get into the TUF house, Baszler faced Colleen Schneider and won via an armbar submission in the first round. Baszler was then selected by Rousey as the first team pick and the first fight of the season against Julianna Peña. Baszler lost to Peña after tapping out due to a rear naked choke in the second round.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Baszler was expected to face Sarah Kaufman at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale. However, on April 2, 2014, she pulled out of the bout due to an injury.
For her promotional debut, Baszler faced Bethe Correia on August 30, 2014, at UFC 177. She lost the fight via TKO in the second round.
Baszler faced Amanda Nunes on March 21, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 62. She lost the fight via TKO in the first round after taking multiple leg kicks and was subsequently released from the organization.
Professional wrestling Independent circuit (2015-2017) On March 1, 2015, at Ring of Honor's 13th Anniversary Show, Baszler accompanied reDRagon to the ring for their ROH World Tag Team Championship defense. After they won, she helped cut a celebratory promo, where they described her addition to the team as "[finding] our Ringo". On September 26, 2015, Baszler made her professional wrestling debut against Cheerleader Melissa for Quintessential Pro Wrestling (QPW) in Reno, NV. Baszler was attacked by Nicole Matthews setting up a future match between them. In October 2015, Baszler worked two events for Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, during their American tour in Covina, California.
On January 23, 2016, at a MAGNUM Pro Wrestling event in Omaha, Nebraska, Baizler defeated "Miss Natural" Heather Patera with a Double Wristlock.
In June 2016, Baszler made her debut for Shimmer Women Athletes. On July 17, Baszler defeated RAZE to become the Women Athlete's Championship at Premier XIII. On September 9, Baszler defeated Heidi Lovelace to win Absolute Intense Wrestling's Women's Championship. On September 27, it was reported that Baszler was receiving a WWE tryout.
World Wonder Ring Stardom (2015, 2017) In October 2015, Baszler worked two events for Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, during their American tour in Covina, California, first teaming with Brittany Wonder and Datura in a loss to Oedo Tai (Act Yasukawa, Kris Wolf and Kyoko Kimura), and unsuccessfully challenging Cheerleader Melissa for the GRPW Lady Luck Championship two days later. She returned to the promotion in January 2017, this time touring Japan. She made her debut on January 3, teaming with Mayu Iwatani and Jungle Kyona to defeat Sumie Sakai, Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura. The following day, she teamed with Nixon Newell and Kay Lee Ray to defeat Iwatani, Kairi Hojo and Konami. The following day, she faced Himomi Mimura and Viper in a triple threat match won by Viper. On January 15, she took part in another triple threat match, this time defeating Momo Watanabe and Jungle Kyona. On January 29, she teamed with Deonna Purrazzo and Christi Jaynes to defeat Kris Wolf, Viper and Kagetsu. On February 23, Baszler unsuccessfully challenged Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship.
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2017-present) In September 2016, it was reported that Bazler was one of many independent wrestlers taking part in a WWE tryout.
Mae Young Classic (2017) Main article: WWE Mae Young Classic 2017 On July 13, 2017, Baszler entered WWE's Mae Young Classic, defeating Zeda in the first round. The following day, Baszler first defeated Mia Yim in the second round, then Candice LeRae in the quarterfinals and finally Mercedes Martinez in the semifinals to advance to the finals of the tournament. After defeating Candice LeRae in the quarterfinals, Baszler turned heel after not releasing the submission hold she used to beat Candice after the bell rang multiple times. She also kicked Candice as she was attended by doctors and her husband Johnny Gargano while also berating the fans, therefore cementing her heel turn.
NXT (2017-present) Baszler made her NXT debut at a house show on August 10, 2017, where she teamed with Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, they were against the team of Kairi Sane, Aliyah and Dakota Kai, in a six-woman tag team match, which Baszler's team lost. On August 12, she made her singles debut, defeating Zeda and then defeating Taynara Conti in another match. On October 3, WWE officially announced that Baszler had signed with the company and started training at the WWE Performance Center. Baszler continued through the remainder of 2017 undefeated in singles and tag team matches, ending her debut year with a victory over NXT newcomer Jessie Elaban. She received her first title shot on January 27, 2018 at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, against the NXT Women's Champion Ember Moon but did not succeed in winning the title. Her title rematch was held during the February 1 edition of NXT where Baszler won the match by disqualification but did not win the title. During the course of new year, Baszler wrestled in matches against opponents including Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley, Abbey Laith and Kairi Sane. On March 16, Baszler challenged Ember Moon once more for the Women's title but lost the match due to the double-disqualification. On April 7 at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, Baszler defeated Ember Moon to win the NXT Women's Championship for the first time. On April 8 during the fourth day of the 2018 WrestleMania Axxess weekend event, Baszler's first title defense was victory over Dakota Kai. Throughout the remainder of April, Baszler successfully defended her title against challengers including Candice LeRae, Kairi Sane, Nikki Cross and Steffanie Newell. During the month of May, Baszler defeated Dakota Kai in three title rematches. The following month she defeated Nikki Cross on three different occasions to retain the Women's title including the third match held at NXT TakeOver: Chicago II. On June 19 during the second night of the 2018 WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament, Baszler retained the championship against New Zealand wrestler Toni Storm by count-out. After returning to the United States, Baszler defeated Dakota Kai once more in a title rematch on June 28.
Beginning the next month on July 13, Baszler defeated Nikki Cross to retain the NXT Women's Championship. Over the course of the month, she extended her title reign, defeating challengers including Xia Li and Candice LeRae. She finished the month with a tag match during the July 29 house show, teaming with Taynara Conti in a loss to Candice LeRae & Kairi Sane. Baszler's next title defense was held during the August 17 house show, defeating Kairi Sane. However, a rematch was held the following night at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV, where Baszler lost the Women's Championship to Sane. A week later, Baszler returned to begin a new winning streak with a match won during the August 23 tapings, defeating Violet Payne. At the August 25 house show, Baszler formed an alliance with sister mixed martial artists and wrestling newcomers Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir. Their first tag match was won against the team of Deonna Purrazzo, Io Shirai and with reigning Women's Champion Kairi Sane. They finished the month with a second tag team victory during the August 30 house show, defeating Dakota Kai, Io Shirai & Nikki Cross. Returning at the September 6 house show, Baszler began the month with a victory over Candice LeRae. She later lost to LeRae in a rematch held during the September 8 house show. Baszler also met LeRae in two tag matches ending in victories for LeRae's team during the September 7 and September 9 house shows. By September 14, Baszler returned to her alliance with sister mixed martial artists Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir, leading their team in defeating Dakota Kai, Io Shirai & Kairi Sane. During the September 20 tapings, Baszler won a singles match after decimating guest wrestler Britt Baker, resulting in the referree stopping their match. At the September 22 house show, Baszler, Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir defeated Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Kairi Sane in an elimination tag team match. Baszler and her teammates finished the month with a victory during the September 27 house show, defeating Io Shirai, Kairi Sane & Xia Li.
The following month, Baszler returned for the October 4 house show, teaming with Marina Shafir in defeating Candice LeRae & Dakota Kai. Two nights later, Baszler & Shafir teamed again, defeating Dakota Kai & Mia Yim. A week later during the October 12 house show, Baszler, Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir won another six-woman tag match defeating the team of Io Shirai, Jessie Elaban & Lacey Lane.- Miesha Tate was born on 18 August 1986 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. She is an actress, known for Here Without You, Fight Valley (2016) and Pursued.
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is a Moldovan female professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as part of their NXT brand. She formally competed for Invicta Fighting Championships in the women's featherweight division. Shafir's earliest fight was at Premier FC 9 - Battle to the Belt, held on 20 May 2012. She defeated Denise Goddard using an armbar submission within the first 0:44 seconds of the first round. Her next bout was at Premier FC 12 - Premier Fighting Championship 12 on 17 November 2012 where she defeated her opponent Becky Lewis by armbar submission. Shafir returned in 2013 at Tuff-N-Uff - Mayhem in Mesquite 2 on 23 March, where she defeated Danielle Mack by armbar submission in 0:59 seconds of the first round, her second fastest submission victory. At Tuff-N-Uff - Future Stars of MMA on 29 November 2013, Shafir won a submission victory by using a Triangle Choke to defeat Tabitha Patterson in 0:59 seconds of the first round. Shafir returned in 2014 at U of MMA - Fight Night 5 on 9 February, where she defeated Nicole Upshaw by submission at 1:59 of the first round, her second longest submission victory since her match with Lewis whom she submitted at 2:03. Shafir compiled an undefeated record of 5-0 in her amateur career. Shafir debuted during the 26 July NXT house show, teaming with Nikki Cross in defeating Aliyah & Rhea Ripley in a tag match. She won her first singles match during the 28 July house show, defeating Aliyah. During the 30 August NXT house show, Shafir teamed with sister MMA fighters Jessamyn Duke & Shayna Baszler in defeating Dakota Kai, Io Shirai & Nikki Cross. During the 14 September house show Shafir, Duke and Shayna Baszler defeated Dakota Kai, Io Shirai and Kairi Sane in a rematch. During the 22 September house show, Shafir, Duke and Baszler defeated Dakota Kai, Candice LeRae and Kairi Sane in a third rematch. The following week during the 27 September house show, Shafir, Duke and Baszler defeated Io Shirai & Kairi Sane & Xia Li. During the following night's house show, Shafir competed in a number one contendership battle royal for the WWE United Kingdom Women's Championship, ending with Jessie Elaban winning the match. On the next night's house show on 29 September, Shafir and Jessamyn Duke won a traditional two-on-two tag match, defeating MJ Jenkins & Taynara Conti. Shafir returned the following month during the 4 October house show, teaming with Jessamyn Duke in defeating Candice LeRae & Dakota Kai in a tag match. Two nights later on 6 October, Shafir and Jessamyn Duke defeated Dakota Kai & Mia Yim. Shafir teamed once more with Jessamyn Duke & Shayna Baszler during the 12 October house show, where they defeated the triad of Io Shirai, Jessie Elaban & Lacey Lane. During the following night's house show Shafir teamed with Jessamyn Duke during which they endured their first tag team defeat of the month to Io Shirai & Mia Yim by means of disqualification. They finished the month, avenging their previous defeat at the 19 October house show, during with Shafir and Duke along with Shayna Baszler won a tag team rematch defeating Io Shirai, Mia Yim and third teammate Kairi Sane.
Shafir returned the following month for the 1 November house show during which she and Jessamyn Duke defeated Dakota Kai & Kairi Sane. Shafir and Duke repeated this in their next two rematches held during the 3 November and 15 November Live event. Shafir and Duke sustained their first loss of the month during the 28 November NXT tapings, during which they were defeated by their rival Dakota Kai and Io Shirai. Shafir and her teammates Jessamyn Duke & Shayna Baszler finished the month with a tag match during the 30 November house show defeating Lacey Lane, Mia Yim & MJ Jenkins. Returning the following month at the 6 December house show, Shafir & Duke lost their first tag match of the match once more against Dakota Kai and her tag partner Kairi Sane. At the following night's house show. Two nights later during the 9 December house show, Shafir teamed with Shayna Baszler, avenging their teams previous losses, defeating Candice LeRae & Kairi Sane.
The following year, Shafir returned for the 18 January 2019 house show, teaming with Shayna Baszler in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match against Io Shirai & Kairi Sane, Aliyah & Vanessa Borne and Mia Yim & Xia Li. At the following night's house show Shafir and Baszler lost a tag team match to Bianca Belair & Kairi Sane. The following week, Shafir returned with Jessamyn Duke at the 24 January house show, in a tag match lost against Io Shirai & Kairi Sane. At the following night's house show, Shafir teamed with Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler in a tag match lost against Candice LeRae, Io Shirai & Kairi Sane.- Actress
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is an American female professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, signed to WWE as part of their NXT brand. She formally competed for Invicta Fighting Championships in the women's bantamweight division. Duke debuted during the August 25 NXT house show, teaming with mixed martial artists Marina Shafir & Shayna Baszler in defeating Deonna Purrazzo & Io Shirai & Kairi Sane in a tag match. Duke returned during the August 30 NXT house show, again teaming with Marina Shafir & Shayna Baszler in defeating Dakota Kai, Io Shirai & Nikki Cross. On September 8 during a house show, Duke teamed with Marina Shafir to defeat Io Shirai & Kacy Catanzaro. The following week at the September 13 house show, Duke and Shafir teamed again to defeat Candice LeRae & Kairi Sane. During the September 14 house show, Duke, Marina Shafir and Shayna Baszler defeated Dakota Kai, Io Shirai and Kairi Sane in a rematch. During the September 22 house show, Duke, Shafir and Baszler defeated Dakota Kai,Candice LeRae and Kairi Sane in a third rematch with elimination tag team rules. The following week during the September 27 house show, Duke, Shafir and Baszler defeated Io Shirai & Kairi Sane & Xia Li. During the following night's house show, Duke competed in a NXT Women's Championship No. 1 Contendership battle royal eventually won by Jessie Elaban. She finished the month with Marina Shafir in a tag match during the September 29 house show, defeating Taynara Conti and NXT recruit MJ Jenkins.
Duke returned the following month for the October 12 house show, teaming with allies Marina Shafir and Shayna Baszler in defeating Io Shirai, Jessie Elaban and recent NXT recruit Lacey Lane in a tag match. During the following night's show, Duke & Marina Shafir lost a tag match by disqualification to Io Shirai and NXT recruit Mia Yim. Six nights later at the October 19 house show, along with Shayna Baszler, Duke & Shafir avenged their loss, defeating Io Shirai, Mia Yim & Kairi Sane in a six-woman tag match. Duke & Shafir returned the following month during the November 1 house show, where they defeated Dakota Kai & Kairi Sane. They defeated Dakota Kai and Kairi Sane in a rematch on the November 3 house show. On November 15 during the Live event in San Jose, California, Duke and Marina Shafir won a tag match defeating Dakota Kai & Kairi Sane. She made her first televised appearance of the month during the November 28 tapings (aired during the December 19 episode of NXT), during which Duke & Marina Shafir lost a tag match against Dakota Kai & Io Shirai. During the month's final house show, Duke ended with a victory with teaming with Marina Shafir & Shayna Baszler defeating Lacey Lane, Mia Yim & MJ Jenkins.
The following month, Duke returned during the December 6 house show, teaming with Marina Shafir in a rematch lost to Dakota Kai & Kairi Sane. During the following night's house show, Duke, Marina Shafir & Shayna Baszler lost a tag match against Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Kairi Sane. The following night during the December 8 house show, Duke won her first singles match of the month, defeating Candice LeRae. The following week during the December 13 house show however, Duke lost her second singles match of the month against recent NXT recruit Mia Yim. During the following night's house show, Duke & Shayna Baszler won a tag match defeating Candice LeRae & Kacy Catanzaro. The following night during the December 15 house show Duke & Shayna Baszler defeated Kairi Sane & Mia Yim in a tag match.- A native of Curitiba, Brazil, Cristiane Justino Venancio was born in July 1985. Famous as Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, she shares the nickname "Cyborg" with her former husband and fellow mixed martial artist Evangelista Santos. After their divorce years later, she would become Cristiane Justino. Known for her aggressiveness and size, Justino has been compared to Wanderlei Silva in her approach to fighting. In 2004 after Justino competed in a high school handball championship game, she was approached by Rudimar Fedrigo, the founder and head coach of Chute Boxe Academy. Fedrigo was impressed by her strength and athleticism and encouraged a hesitant Santos to become a fighter. Santos relented and agreed to a free Muay Thai class at the Chute Box gym. At the Chute Boxe Academy she met Evangelista Santos, a training partner. Months into her combat sports training, her first professional fight was with the Brazil-based Showfight promotion in May 2005 and she adopted the nickname of "Cyborg". Cyborg fought Eric Paes who submitted her by knee-bar early in round one.
Cyborg's first MMA win happened that year in her second bout which happened with local promotion, Storm Samurai. She won unanimously over Vanessa Porto at "Storm Samurai 9". In 2006, she would experience the most MMA success with three consecutive wins over opponents in the first round: Chris Schroeder by TKO at "Storm Samurai 10"; hurting Elaine Santiago at "Storm Samurai 11" to earn a corner stoppage victory, and Marise Vitoria at "Storm Samurai 12". After a two-year absence from MMA competition, Cristiane returned to action in July 2008, for her first fight in the United States. It happened at the Episode #1.2 (2008) event titled "Unfinished Business", which aired on CBS. Cyborg hit knee strikes on Shayna Andrea Baszler who fell on her back and attempted a knee-bar which Cyborg defended by punching. Baszler managed to get a take-down and attempted a leg-lock submission without success, as Cyborg again landed powerful punches while on the ground. The second round was a repeat of the first with Cyborg exhibiting her punching dominance hurting Baszler with her power. One of the fight's notable moments includes Baszler collapsing from Cyborg's strikes, and Cyborg prematurely celebrating on top of the cage. Referee Steve Mazzagatti implored Cyborg to keep fighting because the bout was not stopped. A confused Cyborg resumed her punches, then dragged Baszler to the ground and then allowed Baszler to stand up. The second time Baszler collapsed from Cyborg's punches; the bout was stopped by TKO victory.
Months later in October at Episode #1.3 (2008), named "Heat", Cyborg won unanimously over Yoko Takahashi, in one of her few fights to go to a decision. The non-title bouts with Baszler and Takahashi were scheduled for three 3-minute rounds, unlike the usual three 5-minute rounds for men in non-title fights. Several days later after "Heat", Elite XC (2007) went out of business and ended any prospects of a much discussed fight between Cyborg and Gina Carano, who also fought in the promotion. In 2009, Strikeforce (2006) acquired former properties of Elite XC, including the video library and fighter contracts, which included Cyborg's. The signing prevented a planned bout between Cyborg and and Dutch fighter Marloes Coenen. Cyborg moved to Strikeforce (2006) under an exclusivity agreement, with her first fight against Hitomi Akano in a bout scheduled for 3 three-minute rounds. Cyborg controversially came in 7 pounds over the 145-pound weight limit against Akano who usually competes a weight class below.
Clearly the smaller fight at 143 pounds, Cyborg aggressively dominated Akano. Pushing aside her attempts at tossing her by German suplexing her to the ground, landing punches, then walking away. Cyborg repeated tossing Akano to the ground, briefly attacking from top then walking away until the end of the round. Cyborg repeated this approach in round two until Akano went for a flying submission without success against her much stronger opponent. Early in the third round Cyborg landed kicks and punches which staggered Akano for the technical knockout win. With Gina Carano also under contract, Cyborg's much speculated bout with Carano was booked on August 15, 2009. Strikeforce held its first MMA event headlined by women: Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg (2009) scheduled for the conventional five 5-minute rounds for championship MMA bouts. The fight would be for the Strikeforce's women's "middleweight" title at a 145 pounds weight limit usually known as "featherweight".
The women were aggressive with Cyborg using her strength to take Carano down but landing on the bottom. Carano took advantage and started to ground and pound until Cyborg grabbed her left foot for a heel hook submission. Carano escaped from it and Cyborg stood up and attacked with power punches, went for another take-down, and again ended up on the bottom with Gina on top. Carano stepped back and Cyborg stood up and initiated a clinch accompanied by punches. Carano applied a headlock and Cyborg took her down. Both fighters ended up against the cage in a clinch position. Carano drags Cyborg down and ended up on the bottom with Cyborg on top. Cyborg attempted an Americana/kimura submission hold and Carano secured her arm. Cyborg then unleashed a ground attack of punches until the fight was ended by technical knockout one second before the end the first round, becoming Strikeforce's first ever women's champion.
Cyborg was to have fought Marloes Coenen at CBS Strikeforce M-1 Global Saturday Night Fights (2009) to defend the title. An injury from a grappling competiton resulted made Justino withdraw from the fight. Justino's first defense of her Strikeforce championship (145 pounds) against Coenen--whom she was to have first fought at XMMA 7 in Montreal--to Strikeforce: Miami (2010). Coenen kicked and Cyborg punched until both got into a clinch against the fence and took her down by the waist. Coenen attacked from the bottom with an arm-bar submission and Cyborg escaped and rained down punches before the fight was stood up. Cyborg landed more punches and clinched with Coenen on the feet. Cyborg knocked Coenen to the ground in the second round and controlled her from the top. The fight was stood up and Cyborg attacked with hooks, body kicks, and defended against a take-down from Coenen. Coenen ended up on her back by applying a jumping guard, with Cyborg in control until the round ended. Coenen began the third round with an aggressive running effort to get Cyborg to the ground, which was defended with Cyborg's back against the fence. Cyborg opened up punches and kicks against, and reversed a brief take-down by Coenen to be on top. Cyborg stood up and fell when Coenen tripped her by kicking her feet from the ground. Cyborg ended up on top again after another failed take-down bid by Coenen, then unloading punches for the TKO win.
After her first title defense, Jan Finney was later announced as the next contender for the title held by Cyborg. Cyborg and Finney fought at Strikeforce M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum (2010). Finney landed the first strike and Cyborg hit her with the first of a barrage of punches. Finney collapsed and later tried for a take-down without success. Cyborg continued her attack with punches and some knees and was interrupted when Finney tried for a foot submission. The fight was stood up and Finney against collapse from the force of Cyborg's attacks. Cyborg attacked Finney on the ground until referee Kim Winslow interrupted. She ceased the action to deduct a point from Cyborg for multiple punches to the back of Finney's head. Cyborg continued landing punches, knees then defended another take-down attempt by Finney, pushed her to the ground to continue the attack. Finney started the second round with her most aggressive take-down offense on Cyborg without success. Cyborg resumed her striking dominance by hitting Finney with uppercuts and controlling her on the ground. Finney went for an unsuccessful leg-lock submission and Cyborg went back to punching and knees. The referee separated the fighters from the clinch, and Finney collapsed from a powerful knee to the body from Cyborg. Cyborg landed a few punches and the referee intervened to give Cyborg the technical knockout victory.
The shallowness of the Strikeforce (2006) women's featherweight division lead to a nearly 18-month absence from MMA competition for Cyborg. In December 2011, she fought Hiroko Yamanaka at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal (2011). Cyborg hit Yamanaka with right-hand punches, sending her to the ground. Yamanaka stood up and Cyborg pursued her against the cage to land more punches for the referee to end the bout at 16 seconds via KO. After the win Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker called Cyborg "the Mike Tyson of female MMA," and declared the promotion's plans to find new opponents for her. In January 2012, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) announced that Santos had tested positive for banned stanizol metalobites. She was suspended for a year, fined $2,500, her win over Yamanaka changed to a "No Contest", and Strikeforce relieved her of the Strikeforce Featherweight World title.
In her absence, Ronda Rousey rose to success defeating Miesha Tate for the Strikeforce Bantamweight (135lbs) World title, then defending it against Sarah Kaufman in under a minute using her well-known arm bar. Talk of a Cyborg vs. Rousey bout was fueled by fans and the press, with both women verbally sparring in the media. Cyborg mentioned the difficulties of cutting to bantamweight while Rousey, as the bantamweight champion, refused to return to the Featherweight division. Tito Ortiz became Justino's manager who later negotiated her release from Ultimate Fighting Championship after her contract was transferred from Strikeforce when it closed in January 2013. In February 2013, Cristiane Justino signed with the all-women Invicta Fighting Championships (Invicta FC) promotion. She made her first appearance with them at Invicta FC 5, where she defeated Fiona Muxlow by technical knockout in the first round. Justino was matched up against previous Strikeforce opponent Marloes Coenenat Invicta FC 6: Cyborg vs. Coenen II (2013) to crown the inaugural Invicta FC Featherweight World Champion. Justino overpowered Coenen, whom had increased her strength from their first fight. While landing powerful punches and slams, Justino was patient, and often disengaged when the fight went to the ground, neutralizing Coenen's formidable submission skills. The bout was declared a TKO after four minutes in round 4 with Justino attacking from the full mount position. - Born October 17, 1981 in Albuquerque, New Mexico to parents Roger Holm and Tammy Bredy, Holly Holm is considered to be one of the greatest female boxers of all time. Holm attended Manzano High School where she wanted to take up wrestling, but her parent's wouldn't allow it since there were no girl's teams. She took up kickboxing as an alternative. At the age of 17 she began sparring, and had her first fight when she turned 18.
Mike Winkeljohn, Holm's trainer, saw immediate potential, and in 2001 Holm won the national title in the international rules adult women's division in Ringside's amateur kickboxing tournament. Her amateur kickboxing record stands at 6-0-2. Her boxing debut was in January of 2002 and her professional debut as a kickboxer was five months later on June 1.
Holm's boxing record is an astounding 33 wins - 2 losses - 3 draws, winning both the WBF Female World Light Welterweight and World Welterweight titles. In 2012 she was named Female Fighter of the Year and also received an award for Female Fight of the Year. She is an 18-time world champion across three weight classes.
Holm retired from boxing in 2013 to pursue a career in MMA, and on July 10, 2014 she signed a mulit-fight contract with the UFC. She appears in the film Fight Valley (2016) along with sister UFC fighter Miesha Tate. - Actress
- Producer
- Editorial Department
is an American judoka, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on the Smackdown brand under the ring name Sonya Deville.
Under her real name, Berenato joined the 2015 season of Tough Enough where she was the eleventh eliminated. In October, 2015, Berenato signed a contract with WWE, and was assigned to their Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. n October 28, 2015, it was announced that Berenato had signed a contract with WWE, and was assigned to their developmental territory WWE NXT, to begin training. She made her in-ring debut at the December 30 live event in NXT against Nia Jax, where she lost. Under her real name, Berenato made her first televised appearance and in-ring debut on the August 17 episode of NXT, where she competed in a six-woman tag team match along with Mandy Rose, and Alexa Bliss, in which they were defeated by Carmella, Liv Morgan, and Nikki Cross.
Raw (2017-2018) On the November 20, 2017, episode of Raw, Deville joined Mandy Rose and the returning Paige as they attacked Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mickie James and Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, thus establishing herself as a heel in the process. A week later, the trio's name was revealed as Absolution. Deville had her first televised match on the main roster at Tribute to the Troops on December 19, where she won a six-women tag match along with Mandy and Paige defeating Bayley, Mickie James and Sasha Banks. Deville and the rest of Absolution revealed on the January 1, 2018 edition of Raw that they will be in the women's 2018 Royal Rumble match. On the January 16 edition of Raw, Deville picked up a major victory when she defeated four time Raw Women's Champion Sasha Banks. On Raw's 25th anniversary (January 22), Deville, Rose, Nia Jax and Alicia Fox was defeated by Asuka, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Mickie James after Banks made Fox submit. At the Royal Rumble, Deville entered at Number 10. She eliminated Torrie Wilson before getting eliminated by Michelle McCool. On the February 5th episode of Raw, Raw General Manager, Kurt Angle announced the participants of the first ever Women's Elimination Chamber match, with Deville and Rose being announced as participants. At Elimination Chamber, Deville was the second woman eliminated by James.
During the WrestleMania 34 preshow Sonya participated in the 20-woman Battle Royal ultimately won by Naomi.
Smackdown (2018-present) During the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up Sonya along with Mandy Rose moved from Raw to Smackdown.- Cat Zingano was born on 1 July 1982 in Broomfield, Colorado, USA. She was previously married to Mauricio Zingano.
- Actress
Amanda Lourenço Nunes is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion and a former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. Widely regarded as the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time, Nunes is the first woman to become a two-division UFC champion, and the third fighter to hold UFC titles in two weight classes simultaneously, after Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier. She is also the first and only fighter to defend two UFC titles while holding both. As of December 13, 2021, she is ranked #1 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings and as of January 17, 2022, she is ranked #2 in UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.