'Cyborg' Moved to Sept. 20 EliteXC

Although Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (Pictures) may be on a collision course with Gina Carano (Pictures), she will first have to deal with one of sport’s pioneers if she wants to secure a superfight showdown with "The Face of Women’s MMA.”

Sherdog.com has learned that Japan's Yoko Takahashi (Pictures) has officially signed on to face the brutal Brazilian striker at EliteXC “Showdown” on Sept. 20 at The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M. Takahashi's manager, Shu Hirata, confirmed the bout to Sherdog.com Thursday.

The 23-year-old Santos (5-1), who competed at 140 pounds in her EliteXC debut, will meet Takahashi (13-9) at a 148-pound catch-weight, according to Hirata.

In its early stages, the bout was initially rumored for EliteXC's Oct. 4 card in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., which will be the third installment of the promotion's “Saturday Night Fights” series live on CBS. However, with Gina Carano (Pictures) already penciled in to face veteran Kelly Kobald (Pictures)-Gavin on the main card, the Santos-Takahashi bout was finalized for the Sept. 20 New Mexico card instead, slated to feature the likes of Joey Villasenor (Pictures), Alberto Crane (Pictures) and Paul Daley (Pictures).

"Both Yoko and Cyborg wanted to do this in October, but they moved us to September," Hirata revealed to Sherdog.com.

It is not the first time Takahashi and Cyborg were set to cross paths. The two were tentatively set to square off at April 5's ShoXC in Friant, Calif., before visa issues forced Santos off the card, and Takahashi was eventually nixed from the bill as well.

Santos made her promotional and stateside debut in July before a primetime network audience on EliteXC's second edition on CBS, where the offensive-minded Chute Boxe product destroyed Shayna Baszler (Pictures) en route to a second-round stoppage victory, and turned in one of the sport's finest performances of 2008.

A trailblazing spirit in women’s MMA, Takahashi is a 12-year veteran of the sport. Having fought twice for the California-based Fatal Femmes Fighting promotion last year, the bout will be the well-traveled Takahashi's third venture in the U.S. Although she competed in a grappling match with former foe Mika Hayashi on Aug. 2, Takahashi hasn't seen MMA action since her loss to dominatrix-turned-MMA fighter Hiroko last September.