The only fighter to hold five major MMA world championships
In short: From a national-level handball player in Brazil to a global combat icon, Cristiane Justino Venâncio has rewritten the record books. As the first woman to reach 30 career victories, her journey through the world's most prestigious promotions is a masterclass in sustained dominance.
Born in Curitiba, Brazil, in 1985, Cristiane 'Cyborg' Justino Venâncio began her athletic journey as a high-level handball player. Her transition to combat sports was serendipitous; while training in handball, she was discovered by Rudimar Fedrigo of the Chute Boxe Academy. This pivot led to a professional MMA debut in May 2005, where she suffered a first-round loss to Erica Paes—a defeat that remained her only professional MMA loss until 2018.
Cyborg's career is defined by unprecedented hardware. She is the only fighter in history to become a Quintuple Champion, having secured world titles across five major promotions: Strikeforce, Invicta FC, UFC, Bellator MMA, and as a professional boxer in the WIBA Light Middleweight division. Her rise to prominence was cemented on August 15, 2009, when she defeated Gina Carano in the first major MMA main event to feature women, winning via TKO at the final second of the first round.
Her path has not been without controversy. In 2011, a fight against Hiroko Yamanaka was overturned to a no contest after Cyborg tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, resulting in a one-year suspension and a $2,500 fine. Similarly, in 2016, she faced scrutiny regarding a potential USADA violation, though she was eventually granted a retroactive therapeutic use exemption in 2017. Notwithstanding such obstacles, no other female MMA fighter has surpassed her total number of victories.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Cris Cyborg
- Also: Wikidata — Cris Cyborg · CC0
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