Well, so much for the future...Gina Carano got pounded by Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (8-1) for her first loss. Carano was KO'd at the end of the first round (champsionship rounds go five minutes -- an eternity). Despite the loss, apparently Carano (7-1) did show she is a fighter, she just faced a better oponent. I didn't watch so I'm posting a recap by Yahoo! Sports.
Round one: Cyborg tries an early takedown and Gina ends up on top. Cyborg tries a leg lock. Gina escapes. Cyborg gets her back and Gina gets to her feet. Cyborg tries another takedown and Gina ends up on top again. Gina blasts her with a right, then backs away. Crowd is amazingly pumped for this fight. Cyborg hurt her with a couple punches against the fence. Gina backs away and looks OK. Carano landed a superman punch. Cyborg hurt her with another punch, Carano fell down and Cyborg landed more shots. Both women look tired. Cyborg scored a trip takedown with just less than a minute left. With 15 seconds left, Cyborg opened up on the downed Carano. Carano was trapped against the cage and Cyborg mounted her as Carano fell to her side. Cyborg landed a series of right hands as Carano turtled and covered up. Referee Josh Rosenthal stopped the fight at the bell.
For a moment, there's some confusion if the fight is over, but Rosenthal called the fight just before the bell, and the official decision is a TKO at 4:59 of the first round.
Winner: Cyborg via TKO
With the win, Cyborg becomes the first-ever women's champion in a major U.S. MMA organization.
