Video: Cris 'Cyborg' Santos On Returning From Her Long Layoff

By Mark Wayne | December 16, 2011

The consensus best women's fighter, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, will return from well over a year away from the sport to attempt to defend her Strikeforce women's featherweight title against similarly dominant 12-1 Japanese battler Hiroko Yamanaka this Saturday night.

After losing in her first ever professional contest, Cyborg has gone on a ten-fight tear, beating down the likes of Shayna Baszler, Hitomi Akano, Gina Carano, Marloes Coenen and, most recently, Jan Finney to establish herself as the most dangerous woman competing in mixed martial arts.

Still, a year-long layoff can dull even the sharpest of edges, so Cyborg recently spoke with MMAWeekly about what role her extended hiatus might play in her fight this weekend at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal.