STRIKEFORCE NEWS: WWE officials deny report of negotiations with Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Dave Meltzer at Yahoo! Sports has refuted a report from Tatame.com late this week stating that Strikeforce Women's 145 lb. Champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos had been offered a contract by World Wrestling Entertainment and was in negotiations with them.

Per Meltzer, WWE officials have denied the report, and say that they have not been in talks with the top MMA fighter in women's mixed martial arts.

Meltzer also speculates that the report could have been leaked due to current contract negotiations with Strikeforce, as Santos has not fought since defeating Jan Finney last June. Per a comment from Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, the organization hopes to have something finalized for Cyborg's return soon.

Cyborg is reportedly looking to receive compensation close to what her former rival Gina Carano received when the two set a ratings record in their August 2009 bout.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: I couldn't see exactly how she would have fit into the WWE mold, so it being nothing more than posturing in contract talks makes sense. She is the biggest name in women's MMA outside of Carano, and she deserves to be paid accordingly. She's not going to receive Carano money, however, as she doesn't move the needle quite as much as the former "face of women's MMA." Still, she's a very popular women's fighter and should be paid more than the $25,000 she received in the Carano fight. Hopefully they can finalize her deal soon and get her back in the cage, as lengthy layoffs that are not for injury reasons are a waste of everyone's time, money and effort.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Affliction2/article_8667.shtml

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