RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian Cris “Cyborg” Justino needed one minute and 20 seconds to knock out Leslie Smith of the United States in a women’s bout at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Southern Brazil on Saturday.
The Brazilian veteran now has a 16-fight winning streak since her debut in 2005, stopping ten consecutive opponents and winning titles in the Strikeforce and Invicta promotions.
Fans have long clamored for Justino to face former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, but Justino was concerned about making the weight. Rousey’s loss to Holly Holm derailed the discussion.
Justino served a one-year suspension in 2012 for testing positive for steroids.
UFC champion Miesha Tate was watching Justino’s “impressive performance.” ”What a powerful woman! Congrats on making 139lbs! Four more and we can have a title fight!,” Tate said on Twitter.
The event was held in front of a sold-out crowd of about 45,000 fans at Arena da Baixada.