Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports reports that World Wrestling Entertainment officials have denied an online report that Strikeforce Women’s Middleweight Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos is negotiating to join the promotion.
An article on the Brazilian MMA-based Tatame.com said Santos and her fighter-husband, Evangelista Santos, were at a WWE event in California two weeks ago and that she was offered a contract.
Santos has a “champion’s clause” in her contract, which binds a champion to the promotion until they lose. Because of the clause, Santos would need the permission of Strikeforce to appear in a WWE ring.
The story may be contract posturing, since Santos has not fought since a June 29 victory over Jan Finney due to negotiations for a new deal.
“We’re negotiating Cristiane’s contract,” said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. “We hope to finalize something soon.”
Coker indicated he first heard about the report Thursday night and didn’t know if it was serious or just an attempt to leverage the current talks.
