5 of the most successful power couples in MMA
Contrary to what most would say, MMA is a team sport. Yes, there's one person who enters the cage and fights, but to get there, it takes the full effort of more than one person. The truth is, one doesn't get better in this sport alone. You need all the help you can get to improve your skills and, most importantly, inspire you to be better.
It's no wonder why some fighters find love in professional fighting. It's easy to establish deep connections with people in a sport that's rooted mostly in overcoming obstacles. When you go through insurmountable odds alongside someone, that someone becomes special to you as you develop a special bond.
Valentine's Day is a day celebrated for the sacrifices of a priest named Valentinus who married couples in secret against the decree of the emperor. In celebration of his valiant effort to fight for love, we look into the idea of love in the midst of prize-fighting.
Today, we rank some of the most successful MMA couples in history. Couples who found great success in training together and cornering each other during fights. Couples that prove that you need that one person to be in your corner to simply inspire you to be the best you can be. Someone who believes in you no matter what the odds are. Someone who simply loves you, win or lose.
Today, we take the risk of being overly cheesy but forgive us. It's a day celebrated in the name of fighting for love, after all. With that said, let's get on with the list.
#5. Evangelista Cyborg and Cris Cyborg - MMA's scariest power couple
It takes just one glance to see that the Cyborgs are the scariest couple not just in MMA, but on the entire planet as well. They have the credentials and records to prove it, too.
Originally Evangelista Santos and Cristiane Justino Venancio, the two are now considered pioneers of MMA during the sport's surge in the mid-2000s. The two trained together at the famed Chute Box Academy alongside legends like Wanderlei 'The Axe Murderer' Silva, Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua and Anderson 'The Spider' Silva.
Adopting the same nickname became a kind of calling card for the couple. They're like machines inside the ring. Evangelista has an exciting fighting style that allowed him to score 24 career knockouts.
As for Cris Cyborg, well, she became one of the greatest female MMA athletes in history. The former Strikeforce, UFC and now Bellator MMA champion's marauding and ultra-violent style made her perhaps the first female superstar in the sport.
Though they are separated now, the Cyborgs have a place in MMA history as they were one of the first highly-publicized power couples in the sport.