About 15 seconds into Saturday night's Strikeforce MMA fight between Hitomi Akano and Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos, Akano had Cyborg in position for a judo throw. But while Akano is a skilled judo practitioner, it didn't matter. Cyborg was so much bigger and stronger that she simply threw Akano against the cage. And I was immediately reminded of Kramer fighting little kids.
For those who aren't as obsessed with Seinfeld as I am, the episode The Foundation featured Kramer bragging about his karate exploits -- which turned out to be against nine-year-old classmates. It was hilarious watching Kramer pulverize opponents who were half his size.
But there's nothing funny about what happened in the Strikeforce cage Saturday night. Cyborg and Akano agreed to fight at 145 pounds, but Cyborg tipped the scales at 152 at Friday's weigh-in. By the time Cyborg rehydrated for Saturday night, she probably weighed closer to 160, while Akano probably walked in the cage at right around the 143.5 that she weighed in at. Cyborg was significantly bigger and stronger than Akano, and it's a testament to Akano's toughness that she lasted into the third round before Cyborg finally TKO'd her.
It's also a lucky thing for everyone involved that Akano wasn't badly hurt. Weight classes exist in MMA for a reason, and the reason is that lopsided mismatches like Akano vs. Cyborg are dangerous.
If Cyborg wants to be taken seriously as a fighter, she needs to make weight and fight opponents her own size. Otherwise, she's just Kramer dominating the dojo.