Cris “Cyborg” Santos needed less than one round to become the first-ever Strikeforce 145-pound women’s champion, knocking out Gina Carano in the opening round of Saturday’s Strikeforce headliner at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

After an exciting start to the main event that saw Cyborg pick Carano apart with powerful punches, Santos used a late flurry of ground and pound to force the referee to step in and stop the bout just one second remaining before the end of the opening frame.

With the victory, Cyborg improves to 8-1 with eight-straight wins dating back to 2005, while Carano falls to 7-1 after suffering he first career loss.

In other main card bouts, Gegard Mousasi became the new Strikeforce light heavyweight champion with a 60-second knockout of Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Gilbert Melendez retained the promotion’s interim lightweight title with a third-round TKO of Mitsuhiro Ishida, and heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum submitted Mike Kyle in the opening round to kick off the Showtime broadcast.

Jay Hieron, Scott Lighty, Justin Wilcox, James Terry, and Alex Trevino were all victorious on the event’s preliminary card.

The official results for Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg were:

Strikeforce Female 145-Pound Championship
Gina Carano vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos def. Gina Carano via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:59

Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship
Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Gegard Mousasi
Mousasi def. Renato “Babalu” Sobral via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:00.

Strikeforce Lightweight Championship
Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
Gilbert Melendez def. Mistsuhiro Ishida via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:56.

Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Kyle
Fabricio Werdum def. Mike Kyle via submission (guillotine) round 1.

Jay Hieron vs. Jesse Taylor
Jay Hieron def. Jesse Taylor via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Mike Cook vs. Scott Lighty
Scott Lighty def. Mike Cook via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:05.


David Douglas vs. Justin Wilcox
Justin Wilcox def. David Douglas via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:16.

Zak Bucia vs. James Terry
James Terry def. Zak Bucia via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:23.

Isaiah Hill vs. Alexander Trevino
Alex Trevino def. Isiah Hill via submission (side choke) – Round 1, 3:56.