Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos (right) alongside his former wife, Strikeforce women's superstar Cris "Cyborg" Santos

By Michael Hatamoto

Brazilian striker Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos decided to resign from Strikeforce due to continued inactivity, and will now into a fight with Instinct MMA.

Santos had a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce that included a clause preventing him from fighting elsewhere, even while inactive.

Here is what Santos said during an interview with Tatame:

“I resigned, quit Strikefroce because I signed a six-fight two-year contract. They gave me two fights and it’s been a year I haven’t fought. I can’t live like this, spending a year on the ‘fridge’. There’re events all over the world. People who know me know I like to be active. Since September 2011 I haven’t fought. I can’t do it. Together with my manager, Rudimar (Fedrigo), I’ve sent a letter asking for Strikeforce to release me and they did.”

During his Strikeforce career, Santos had a 1-3 record, with a win over Marius Zaromskis and losses to Joey Villasenor, Nick Diaz, and Jordan Mein.

Unfortunately, many Strikeforce fighters are finding it difficult to stay active inside the Strikeforce cage – Santos hasn’t fought since September 2011, so it’s not a surprise he wants to head elsewhere.

Santos will make his Instinct MMA debut in October when he fights welterweight champion Brandon Thatch – a legitimate welterweight prospect – which should be a tough task for the 34-year-old Brazilian veteran.

I don’t think Santos will beat Thatch, nor do I believe he’s going to remain even close to relevant in the current MMA world.  However, that doesn’t mean he should be forced to sit on the sidelines, and I’m all for him getting back into the cage and staying as active as he wishes.