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Well, it looks like Cris Cyborg is about to have another long layoff.

MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani is reporting that the CSAC has suspended Cyborg for a positive steroid test stemming from her most recent Strikeforce title defense against Hiroko Yamanaka.

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.”

MMA Junkie adds that the suspension will last for one year and she will be fined $2,500. Also, Cyborg’s win over Yamanaka has been changed to a no-contest.

Several fighters in the past such as Sean Sherk and Josh Barnett have appealed positive tests in California before, however it’s unclear if Cyborg plans to do the same. Neither she or her camp have commented on the story as of yet.

Image via CombatLifestyle.com

Update: Strikeforce’s Scott Coker released the following statement after the news broke.

“STRIKEFORCE has not seen the test results regarding Ms. Santos. However, we have a consistent and strong stance against any use of performance-enhancing drugs. We also have a long history of supporting effective drug testing of athletes by authorized regulatory bodies. Therefore, we will closely monitor the matter and will work with the California State Athletic Commission regarding any information we may be asked to provide. We also recognize that Ms. Santos has administrative process rights under California law and we hope that she is not prejudged before she has the opportunity to exercise such rights.”

Little too PC for you? Well, here’s the always outspoken Dana White with his take.

“We were going to hold that division and just do fights with Cyborg whenever there was a new contender,” White told ESPN Radio in Las Vegas. “She’s getting stripped of the title. This pretty much kills the division. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”

Cyborg has yet to comment, but here’s Ronda Rousey with her thoughts…

ESPN recaps Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Masvidal” and preview UFC 141 on this week’s edition of ESPN MMA Live.

ESPN MMA Live Archive

If you have trouble playing the video, you can also watch it on ESPN.com.

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A video recap of Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Masvidal” courtesy of Showtime.

The CSAC has released the fighter payouts for Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Masvidal”. Keep in mind, these figures represent the base contracted pay the fighter receives from the promotion. These figures do not include any additional bonuses or sponsorship money, which in many cases exceeds a fighter’s base pay. These numbers also do not account for taxes, insurance, and license fees.

Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez and former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi led the pack with flat $150,000 paydays. Strikeforce women’s featherweight champ Cris Cyborg was next in line with a $66,000 payday with her win bonus. It was a significant bump from the $35,000 she pocketed for beating Jan Finney at Strikeforce “Fedor vs. Werdum.” KJ Noons was right behind her with $65,000 in total earnings.

The total disclosed payroll came to $580,000, however the $154,000 live gate was barely enough to cover Gilbert Melendez’s purse, let alone the rest of the payroll.

Payouts

Courtesy of MMA Junkie:

• Gilbert Melendez: $150,000 (no win bonus)
  Jorge Masvidal: $23,000
• Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos: $66,000 ($33k + $33k win bonus)
  Hiroko Yamanaka: $8,000
• Gegard Mousasi: $150,000 (no win bonus)
  Ovince St. Preux: $17,000
• K.J. Noons: $65,000 ($35k + $30k)
  Billy Evangelista: $20,000
• Caros Fodor: $20,000 ($10k + $10k)
  Justin Wilcox: $12,000
• Roger Bowling: $14,200 ($7k + $7k + $200 Peoples weight fine)
  Jerron Peoples: $1,600 ($2k – $200 fine to Bowling – $200 fine to CSAC)
• Devin Cole: $12,000 ($6k + $6k)
  Gabriel Salinas-Jones: $3,000
• Eddie Mendez: $6,000 ($3k + $3k)
  Fernando Gonzalez: $3,000
• Herman Terrado: $6,000 ($3k + $3k)
  Chris Brown: $3,000

Total Payout

A disclosed total of $580,000 was paid out to the fighters.

A few observations from Strikeforce: “Melendez vs. Masvidal”:

-KJ Noons and Billy Evangelista should thank their lucky stars that the mass exodus to the UFC by Strikeforce fighters is over, because their feelings were going to get seriously hurt when UFC matchmaker Joe Silva told them they’re weren’t quite “Octagon material”. Which isn’t to say Noons and Evangelista aren’t good, entertaining scrappers capable of putting on a show – they are. They just would’ve been killed by the UFC’s lightweights.

-Ovince St. Preux was overmatched something fierce, but ex-champ Gegard Mousasi looked like doo-doo. Seriously, what happened to that killer fighter who crushed Renato Sobral?

-I would rather see Cris “Cyborg” Santos sit on the sidelines than go out there and destroy an undeserving and unready can.

-I would also rather Cris “Cyborg” Santos face Ronda Rousey, like, right now. Forget building that bout up. It should’ve happened yesterday.

-Gilbert Melendez failed to put away Jorge Masvidal, and even though he won every round on two out of three of the judges’ scorecards, he still got his face dinged up. Does that mean he sucks? Hell no. It just means that Masvidal is that good.

Rundown of Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Masvidal” post-fight news and notes…

— Gilbert Melendez didn’t dominate Jorge Masvidal last night, as evidenced by his busted up face, but he did enough to pick up the win and successfully defend his Strikeforce lightweight championship. With the victory, Melendez was supposed to move over to the UFC where he and the rest of the world could find out once and for all if he truly is worthy of being called the number one lightweight in the world like he says he is. Alas, that wasn’t meant to be though now that Strikeforce is going to survive for at least another year.

Melendez doesn’t exactly sound “f-ing excited” about it as Dana White claimed, but he does have faith that the powers that be will take care of him.

“It’s been a roller-coaster trying to stay focused with all of this,” Melendez told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) following his win over Jorge Masvidal (22-7 MMA, 4-1 SF) in the main event of Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal” card in San Diego. “I’ve got people telling me I’m going to the UFC. I’ve got people telling me I’m not. I also bring this pressure on myself saying I’m No. 1, you know what I mean? You’ve got to back it up when you talk like that.

“I’ve just got to have faith. What can I do? I’ve got no time to be crying or be negative about [expletive]. I’ve just got to stay focused and see what they bring to the table. We’ll go from there.”

“I’m happy to be a part of Strikeforce and Showtime,” Melendez said. “I’ve got faith that they’re going to do what’s good for me. Dana told me that. ‘It’s going to be great for your career.’

“When I signed with Strikeforce, I was like, ‘I don’t know, Scott.’ Then I was fighting on Showtime. I’m like, ‘Alright, I don’t know, Scott,’ and then he brings me Aoki, the No. 2 fighter in the world. Then I get a great challenge like Jorge. A lot of people underrate him. For me, this was a big win for me to get. Jorge is a guy I’ve seen in the circuit for a long time. I guess what I’m trying to get at is they manage to deliver for me, and I’ve got to continue to have faith that they will continue to deliver for me.

“We’ll all sit down together, and we’ll start talking. I think I’m in a position to ask some questions, and we’ll ask some questions and see what’s next.”

Gilbert Melendez isn’t the only one who has questions. The media and fans are all asking the same thing he is: What’s next? There’s no clear cut answers, however Scott Coker is confident they’ll find someone worthy of challenging Melendez.

“We’re going to keep building our league and keep putting new fighters that aren’t fighting for the UFC in Strikeforce,” Coker said. “There’s plenty of fighters out there. Not sure if you guys feel that way or not, but there’s plenty of fighters out there.

“In 2006, Gilbert fought for Strikeforce, and we had no TV deal. We had no sponsorship. He’s run the course with Strikeforce. I’m so happy that he is with us and has stayed with us. Really, I feel he’s still the No. 1 lightweight in the world. That’s just how I feel personally. He’s been around a long time. He and Frank (Shamrock) and Cung (Le) and Josh were the guys that were there from the very beginning. I’m proud to say he’s our champion, and we’re going to continue getting him great fights.”

Time will tell I suppose, but unless they bring over a worthy challenger from the UFC, there will be plenty of critics who claim his opposition isn’t good enough.

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Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Masvidal” post-fight interviews with Gilbert Melendez, Cris Cyborg, Gegard Mousasi and KJ Noons courtesy of Showtime.

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Highlights from Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Masvidal” courtesy of Showtime and Fox Sports.

Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Masvidal” takes place later tonight at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California. The event will air on Showtime at 10:30pm ET/PT.

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Shoo away those circling vultures and other carrion feeders, because Strikeforce is going to live! But you knew that already, just as you knew that Dana White had rolled up his sleeves and entered into the consecrated offices of the Showtime network with the determination to keep some kind of worthwhile MMA property on the channel. So yes, Strikeforce will remain alive, albeit without its heavyweight division, without its low-calorie Strikeforce Challengers series, but with female bouts and no more fighters fleeing for the greener pastures of the UFC’s Octagon. Wahoo! More MMA! Which brings us to Saturday night, and an event headlined by a meeting between Strikeforce champ (whatever that’s still worth) Gilbert Melendez and the always-scrappy Jorge Masvidal. Savor that bout, for reasons that will soon follow, but ultimately, savor the fact that the event won’t be one of the organization’s last. Because without Strikeforce in our lives, what MMA show would we watch on Showtime eight times a year? M-1 Challenge? Ha!

-Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal – Given his hard-fought win over Josh Thomson, his dominant performance over Shinya Aoki, and his prison-rape of Tatsuya Kawajiri, Melendez can be considered among one of the best lightweights in the world (but the inter-dimensional portal between Strikeforce and the UFC has closed, so we’ll never know if he’s the best!). And with his wrestling mixed with pinpoint striking and laser-like intensity, it’s not hard to see why he’s such a badass. The dude is a machine. Challenger Masvidal is no slouch, either, but he’s not quite the same caliber of machine as Melendez. Put another way, if Melendez is a T-1000 Terminator-kind of machine, then with his competent jiu-jitsu, solid Muay Thai, accurate high-kicks and propensity for starting somewhat slowly, Masvidal is an espresso maker. Which, hey, is a great machine if you like coffee-type drinks, but when it comes to dethroning one of the best 155-pound fighters in the world from their royal seat, forget about it. Melendez is finishing this one via TKO early.

-Cris “Cyborg” Santos vs. Hiroko Yamanaka – There’s a tale Brazilian mothers tell their children to scare them into behaving, a tale about a creature that lives in the jungle and comes out at night to devour the unwary. That fabled creature – that feared monster that preys upon mankind – is called the dreaded “Lobisomem”. Recently, Strikeforce 145-pound female champ Cyborg was hungry, so she ate the Lobisomem. And now she wants to feed again. Who’s next for her, and is it someone who stands a chance? Sadly, it’s not Ronda Rousey, so the answer is “no”. A well-rounded Japanese fighter named Yamanaka is the one that gets sacrificed to appease the appetite of Cyborg, which means we have to wait a while longer for something meaningful to happen in female MMA. Given her unyielding aggression and ability to strike better than most of the men on the planet, Cyborg is winning this one via TKO in what should be a quick, violent and ugly match.

-Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux – I admit, I drank the Kool-Aid when it came to believing that DREAM champ Mousasi was the next big thing. Then King Mo laid on him and took his Strikeforce belt, and he drew against Keith Jardine, and I realized that maybe, just maybe, there were some holes in the ace striker’s game. Oh well, he can still be exciting, and his skills are nothing to be trifled with. Which begs the question: will St. Preux, who sometimes likes to stand and bang as well as get guys down and manhandle them, trifle with Mousasi’s superior submissions and superior face-punching? If you’re the up-and-coming St. Preux’s coach, you have to hope your kid plays it smart and tries to grind out the win. I’m guessing that’s not what’s going to happen, though. Mousasi is finding St. Preux’s chin in the later rounds, and that’s all she wrote.

-Billy Evangelista vs. KJ Noons – Despite his top-notch boxing and ability to avoid trouble on the ground, Noons got completely housed by Masvidal and Nick Diaz in his last two fights, while the well-rounded Evangelista blew his chance at breaking out into the big time when Masvidal beat him too. Well, here we are, with a pair of guys who aren’t the best, but who are very capable at throwing leather and putting on a show. Which actually seems like a pretty good metaphor for Strikeforce itself – it’s pretty much not going to be the absolute best fighters throwing down, but it’s going to be good, skilled fighters doing it in entertaining fashion. In that spirit, I see this bout going the distance. The winner: who cares! It will be fun no matter what!