Sherdog’s Top 10: PED Busts

Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino was stripped of the Strikeforce title. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

7. Cristiane Justino
Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Masvidal”
One of the most terrifying pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Justino carved a swathe of destruction through the women’s featherweight division in Strikeforce and a number of smaller promotions. Her devastating beating of Gina Carano put her on the map, and shockingly easy victories over Marloes Coenen and Jan Finney cemented her place at the top of the heap.

A matchup with the obviously overmatched Hiroko Yamanaka -- she was a minimum of +500 at the books -- was next, and “Cyborg” demolished her in all of 16 seconds. It was the result most observers expected, but the post-fight occurrences cast doubt on all of the champion’s accomplishments: Justino’s drug test came back positive for stanozolol, a widely used anabolic steroid.

As many other athletes have done, Justino blamed a tainted supplement she was using to help her cut weight, but the California State Athletic Commission was not swayed. It suspended her for a year and fined her $2,500, and Strikeforce stripped her title. Although she is still the top women’s featherweight in the world and a potential challenger for Ronda Rousey’s UFC bantamweight crown, her reputation has never recovered.

Number 6 » After the fight, however, both fighters popped for banned substances. The Brazilian’s sample came back positive for the anabolic steroid drostanalone, and the American’s contained traces of nandrolone, another anabolic steroid.