Early career Justino, without yet incorporating the nickname "Cyborg", made her professional debut in mixed martial arts at the age of 19 on May 17, 2005, at Showfight 2 against multiple time world BJJ champion Erica Paes. Paes, who was five years her senior, was the first woman to train at the legendary
Brazilian Top Team academy, a rival gym of the
Chute Boxe gym where Cyborg trained. Cyborg lost the fight via submission in the first round, which remained her only professional loss in MMA until 2018, when she lost for the second time in her career against
Amanda Nunes. Although the method of win for Paes was officially recorded as a submission due to a kneebar, Cyborg's team claims that she tapped out due to an elbow injury sustained after a fall in the fight. After losing her MMA debut, Cyborg earned her first victory in the sport by defeating
Vanessa Porto via unanimous decision. She subsequently won her next three fights in the Brazilian promotion Storm Samurai via first-round TKO finish, improving her record to 4-1. She made her anticipated United States MMA debut on July 26, 2008, against
Shayna Baszler at
EliteXC: Unfinished Business. She won the fight by TKO in the second round. She faced
Yoko Takahashi on October 4, 2008, at
EliteXC: Heat, winning the fight by unanimous decision. She was scheduled to face Dutch submission specialist
Marloes Coenen at XMMA 7 on February 27, 2009, but backed out of the fight after signing a new contract with
Strikeforce. Cyborg earned a BJJ Purple Belt under her jiu-jitsu instructor
Cristiano Marcello in 2009.
Strikeforce She later signed to fight for
Strikeforce, She defeated Akano by TKO in the third round. Before the fight with Carano, Cyborg was interviewed by mmaworldwide.com's reporter Aaron Tru. When asked how long it would take to submit Carano with a choke hold, she choked him. She fought
Gina Carano on August 15, 2009, at
Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg for the
Women's Featherweight Championship. Cyborg won via TKO at 4:59 of the 5:00 first round. The card was the first time that a major promotion had featured a main event between women. After the match, she hugged Carano, and stated in her interview that she had the utmost respect for Carano, and that it was an honor to fight her. She next defended her title against Dutch standout
Marloes Coenen at a Strikeforce event on January 30, 2010. She won the fight via TKO at 3:40 of round 3. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated that the next challenger for Cyborg would most likely be
Erin Toughill. However, Toughill later announced her intentions to leave Strikeforce and plans for the fight were cancelled. On April 7, 2010, Coker stated that Cyborg would fight again in June. She faced
Jan Finney at
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum and won the fight via KO in the second round. Her contract with Strikeforce expired on June 26, 2011. She renewed her Strikeforce contract on August 25, 2011.
Doping violations and suspension On September 23, 2011, Cyborg announced that she would return to the promotion to face
Hiroko Yamanaka. The fight took place at
Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal on December 17, 2011. She won via TKO just sixteen seconds into the first round; however, on January 6, 2012, it was announced that Cyborg had tested positive for
stanozolol, an anabolic steroid. As a result of the banned substance, the fight's result was changed to a no contest. Cyborg had her license suspended for one year and was fined $2,500.
Invicta Fighting Championships On February 15, 2013, a month after Strikeforce folded, Cyborg signed a multi-fight deal with
Invicta Fighting Championships. She was scheduled to make her debut on April 5 at
Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson against Ediane Gomes to determine who would move on to face Marloes Coenen. However, Gomes suffered an injury and Cyborg instead faced Fiona Muxlow. Cyborg was successful in her return, winning the bout via TKO in the first round. Cyborg faced
Marloes Coenen in a rematch for the inaugural
Invicta FC Featherweight Championship at
Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg on July 13, 2013. She defeated Coenen by TKO in the fourth round to become the first Invicta FC featherweight champion. She returned to Muay Thai to face Jennifer Colomb at
Lion Fight 11 in Las Vegas on September 20, 2013, defeating the previously undefeated Frenchwoman by TKO in round three. She had initially been set to fight Martina Jindrova but Jindrova withdrew with injury. She lost a five-round unanimous decision against
Jorina Baars in a fight for the inaugural Lion Fight Women's Welterweight Championship in the co-main event of
Lion Fight 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on March 28, 2014. Baars officially knocked down Cyborg in the first round with a head kick and in the fifth round with a spinning heel kick, although referee Tony Weeks missed at least two other occasions throughout the fight where a knockdown could have been issued. Cyborg hit the canvas from a front kick in one occasion and from a knee on another, both times they were ruled slips by the referee. In February 2015, Cyborg returned to MMA to defend her Invicta Featherweight title against
Charmaine Tweet in the main event at
Invicta FC 11. She successfully defended her title, winning the fight via TKO in just under a minute in the first round. Cyborg faced
Faith Van Duin on July 9, 2015, at
Invicta FC 13: Cyborg vs. Van Duin. She won the fight by TKO in the first round due to a knee to the body and punches.
Ultimate Fighting Championship In March 2015, it was announced that Cyborg had signed with the
UFC. Cyborg made her promotional debut at
UFC 198 against
Leslie Smith at a
catchweight of 140 pounds. She won the fight by TKO in the first round. Cyborg faced promotional newcomer Lina Länsberg in a catchweight (140 lb) bout on September 24, 2016, at
UFC Fight Night 95. The referee stopped the fight midway through the second round after Länsberg could not effectively defend herself. In December 2016 UFC was notified of a potential USADA doping violation by Cyborg. Cyborg's team immediately responded that it was in regards to a substance that helped her recover from her weight cut. On February 17, 2017, Cyborg was granted a retroactive
therapeutic use exemption (TUE). Therefore, her suspension was lifted, and she was immediately eligible to compete. In March 2017 Cyborg vacated her Invicta featherweight title and called out
Germaine de Randamie for the belt targeting UFC 214 in Anaheim, California. De Randamie was stripped of her belt on June 19, 2017, by UFC and Cyborg was expected to face
Megan Anderson to fight for the vacated UFC Women's Featherweight Championship at
UFC 214 on July 29 in Anaheim, California. On June 27, Anderson pulled out of the fight for personal reasons and was replaced by current
Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion Tonya Evinger. Cyborg won by TKO in the third round to claim her first UFC championship. In the first defense of her title and the first fight of her new four-fight contract, Cyborg faced
Holly Holm on December 30, 2017, in the main event at
UFC 219. She won the fight via unanimous decision. This win also earned her her first
Fight of the Night bonus. Cyborg faced former
Invicta bantamweight champion,
Yana Kunitskaya, on March 3, 2018, at
UFC 222 for her second featherweight title defense. Cyborg won the fight by TKO in the first round. After the win, she gave out 222 burgers to Los Angeles' homeless, as her way of celebration. Cyborg faced the reigning
UFC Women's bantamweight champion,
Amanda Nunes, for the
UFC Women's Featherweight Championship on December 29, 2018, at
UFC 232. Nunes defeated Cyborg by knockout early in the first round, handing her the first knockout loss in her MMA career. Cyborg faced
Felicia Spencer on July 27, 2019, at
UFC 240 in the co-main event. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Following the fight against Spencer, which was the last fight on her contract, UFC president
Dana White announced that the UFC would not negotiate a new contract with Cyborg, and they would waive her three-month exclusive negotiating period. This allowed her to immediately begin negotiations with other organizations.
Bellator MMA 2019 On September 3, 2019, it was announced Cyborg had signed a multi-fight deal with
Bellator MMA. She won the fight via technical knockout in round four. For the fight with Budd, Cyborg trained in South Africa with trainers Richie Quan, Boyd Allen, and Martin Van Staden. Her and her team's goal for the camp was to train for well-roundedness and to be ready for anything. After winning her fourth World Championship, Cyborg has stated she would like to make an attempt at a belt in boxing. She won the bout via second round submission, earning the first submission of her MMA career. Cyborg made her second defense of the title against
Leslie Smith on May 21, 2021, in the main event at
Bellator 259. They previously met at
UFC 198, which was Cyborg's
UFC debut, where she won by TKO in the first round. She won the bout via TKO after knocking Smith down and finished her with punches late in the last round. Cyborg defended her title against
Sinead Kavanagh on November 12, 2021, at
Bellator 271. After exchanging on the feet, Cyborg knocked Kavanagh out early in the first round. Cyborg defended her title in a rematch against
Arlene Blencowe on April 23, 2022, at
Bellator 279. She retained the title and won the bout via unanimous decision. The following summer Cyborg became a free agent. She won the fight via TKO in the first round.
Professional Fighters League Cyborg faced
2023 PFL Women's Featherweight Champion and
2022 PFL Women's Lightweight Champion Larissa Pacheco for the
PFL Super Fights Women's Featherweight Championship on October 19, 2024 at
PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Cyborg faced
Sara Collins for the inaugural
PFL Featherweight title on December 13, 2025, at
PFL Champions Series 4. She won the bout via a
rear-naked choke submission in the third round. == Boxing career ==