[10] Cyborg first rose to prominence when she won the Strikeforce title on August 15, 2009, by defeating Gina Carano via first-round technical knock-out (TKO) in the first ever major main event to feature women.

A daughter of divorced parents and a father who had problems with alcoholism, Cyborg started her sports career at the age of twelve, playing handball at a national level in Brazil.

Due to her success in the sport, she won numerous athletic scholarships on private universities after her high school graduation, and eventually chose to pursue the path of physical education in the capital of Paraná, Curitiba.

[14] Later, she planned to move to the city of Cascavel to become a professional handball player and finish her college studies there, before being discovered by Rudimar Fedrigo, a Chute Boxe Academy trainer who was impressed by her physical size and advised her to enter the world of fighting.

He invited me to take a Muay Thai class and I liked it!Justino, without yet incorporating the nickname "Cyborg", made her professional debut in mixed martial arts at the age of 19 on May 17, 2005, at Showfight 2 against multiple time world BJJ champion Erica Paes.

[17] After losing her MMA debut, Cyborg earned her first victory in the sport by defeating Vanessa Porto via unanimous decision.

She subsequently won her next three fights in the Brazilian promotion Storm Samurai via first-round TKO finish, improving her record to 4-1.

She made her anticipated United States MMA debut on July 26, 2008, against Shayna Baszler at EliteXC: Unfinished Business.

[20] She was scheduled to face Dutch submission specialist Marloes Coenen at XMMA 7 on February 27, 2009, but backed out of the fight after signing a new contract with Strikeforce.

[34] She won via TKO just sixteen seconds into the first round; however, on January 6, 2012, it was announced that Cyborg had tested positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid.

[35] On February 15, 2013, a month after Strikeforce folded, Cyborg signed a multi-fight deal with Invicta Fighting Championships.

She was scheduled to make her debut on April 5 at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson against Ediane Gomes to determine who would move on to face Marloes Coenen.

[43][44] She returned to Muay Thai to face Jennifer Colomb at Lion Fight 11 in Las Vegas on September 20, 2013, defeating the previously undefeated Frenchwoman by TKO in round three.

Cyborg hit the canvas from a front kick in one occasion and from a knee on another, both times they were ruled slips by the referee.

[58] Cyborg faced promotional newcomer Lina Länsberg in a catchweight (140 lb) bout on September 24, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 95.

[63] In March 2017 Cyborg vacated her Invicta featherweight title and called out Germaine de Randamie for the belt targeting UFC 214 in Anaheim, California.

[66][67] On June 27, Anderson pulled out of the fight for personal reasons and was replaced by current Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion Tonya Evinger.

[69] In the first defense of her title and the first fight of her new four-fight contract, Cyborg faced Holly Holm on December 30, 2017, in the main event at UFC 219.

[72][73] Cyborg faced former Invicta bantamweight champion, Yana Kunitskaya, on March 3, 2018, at UFC 222 for her second featherweight title defense.

[83] For the fight with Budd, Cyborg trained in South Africa with trainers Richie Quan, Boyd Allen, and Martin Van Staden.

[94] After seventeen months away from MMA competition, Cyborg returned to defend her title against Cat Zingano on October 7, 2023 at Bellator 300.

[99] Silva had suffered a knockout loss due to a body punch a month prior to the fight and was suspended by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, however[94] Simone Silva was required to complete additional medicals that allowed the Associaçáo Paranaense De Lutas Commission to sanction the bout as a professional fight.

[106] [107] In 2018, Cyborg legally adopted her teenage niece, making her historically the first mother to hold a UFC championship belt.

[109][84] After earning her first submission victory in a 26-fight MMA career, she was awarded her BJJ Black Belt by Rubens 'Cobrinha' Charles.