Strikeforce announced today that Cristiane Cyborg will face Hitomi Hiraiwa on the Apr. 11 Strikeforce show. This fight is scheduled for three three minute rounds at 145lbs. Of course Cristiane Cyborg is 6-1 and is supposed to be headed for a showdown with Gina Carano. Gina still hasn't signed with Strikeforce. So who is Hitomi Hiraiwa? That's the married name of Hitomi Akano. She trains at AACC in Japan with her partner in crime Megumi Fujii. Both have them are fresh off big wins at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club tournament and the accompanying pic is from Hitomi's win in the final. Her record is 14-5 and her most recent win was over Hari at the Nov. 16 JEWELS show. This should be a very interesting fight for a couple of reasons. Cyborg is known for her punching power. Hitomi Hiraiwa is known as an accomplished grappler. Eleven of her fourteen wins have been by submission. Cyborg has never faced anyone with those sort of mat skills. Though Hitomi normally fights at 135lbs, in Japan she frequently fights in the Open Weight class and therefore faces heavier fighters. Last year she won by submission over the 170lb HIROKO. So the weight thing is not a big deal one way or the other. And though I think the three minute rounds work in Cyborg's favour, I assume that Josh Barnett and Megumi Fujii are considering that when working on Hitomi's strategy. So this fight is not a sure thing for Cyborg. It should be very interesting.
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