Cris Cyborg suspensa por steroids

Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos, widely regarded as the best female fighter in mixed martial arts, has been suspended for testing positive for steroids.

The California State Athletic Commission announced on Friday that it has suspended Cyborg because her drug test following her most recent fight, a 16-second knockout of Hiroko Yamanaka, came back positive for metabolites of the anabolic steroid stanozolol. The result of the Cyborg-Yamanaka fight will be changed to a no decision.

"Our primary concern is for the health and safety of fighters," CSAC Executive Officer George Dodd said in a statement. "Anabolic agents and other banned substances put not only the users of those agents at risk, but their opponents as well. The commission simply will not tolerate their use."

The CSAC's announcement did not say how long Cyborg will be suspended, but one year is the typical length of such suspensions. She has also been fined $2,500.

This is bad news for Cyborg, Strikeforce, Showtime and for all of women's mixed martial arts. Cyborg has been the most dominant female fighter in the sport and one of the few women who draws fans to Strikeforce broadcasts on Showtime. It also calls into question whether her accomplishments in the cage have always been tainted by the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Women's MMA, which is struggling just to survive, just saw one of its highest-profile fighters get a major black eye.