Christiane Santos vs. Hitomi Akano
Strikeforce will pick up where EliteXC left off in terms of promoting women’s MMA, starting with this showcase bout between Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano and vicious Muay Thai striker Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos. This is a classic striker vs. grappler showdown, pitting Cyborg’s brutal kickboxing against the deadly submission game of Hitomi Akano.
Akano, a long time staple of the Smackgirl female MMA promotion, is easily one of the premier grapplers in Women’s MMA. Sporting an impressive professional record of 14-5-0, 11 of Akano’s 14 wins have come by way of submission. Even more impressive is that all 11 of those submission wins came by way of armbar. Akano’s game plan will be easy to divine in this fight. If she tries to stand with Cyborg, she will find herself taking a quick nap within 2 minutes, so you can expect her to push extremely hard for a takedown right out of the gate.
Santos, for her part, will try equally hard to keep the fight standing, where she has a titanic advantage. It’s no secret that Santos, one of the most aggressive and overpowering female fighters of all time, is being groomed for an eventual fight with postergirl Gina Carano. Looking past Akano, though, could be an extremely large mistake. No one can deny Cyborg’s standup, or her obvious physical gifts, but she does lack experience and her takedown and submission defense are both question marks.
Ultimately, I think Akano is an extremely attractive underdog pick. She has more experience than Santos by far, and if she can get the fight to the ground I don’t see any way Cyborg is going to get the best of it. Akano by armbar, first round.
