UFC President Dana White is insistent that women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano, as well as undefeated prospect Holly Holm (7-0), will fight inside the Octagon one day soon.
Working out a contract is just a formality in both situations, he says,  …
UFC President Dana White is insistent that women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano, as well as undefeated prospect Holly Holm (7-0), will fight inside the Octagon one day soon.
Working out a contract is just a formality in both situations, he says, though he still isn’t sure what’s going to happen with Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino.
White expressed his feelings about some of the most well-known female fighters outside the UFC on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight (transcription per MMA Mania).
Obviously, we know all the issues we’ve had with ‘Cyborg,’ from the steroid stuff to the managers, to we don’t even have that weight class, so I don’t even know when she would get into the UFC. Holly Holm and Gina Carano are all a matter of getting a deal done. I used to say never. I don’t say never anymore.
Carano, who hasn’t fought since a TKO loss to Santos in August 2009, met with White one month ago to discuss a potential return, but nothing appears to have come out of the meeting as of this writing, per MMA Fighting.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey sees no issue with giving Carano a title shot right off the bat despite a long layoff from the cage, while other women in the division are not as welcoming.
White said in March that he was no longer interested in dealing with Holm, a former three-division boxing champion, due to issues with her management, per Yahoo! Sports, but obviously he has changed his mind now.
Finally, Santos has been engaging in a war of words with Rousey for the better part of the last year, receiving heavy criticism for testing positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid, after a quick knockout over HirokoYamanaka in December 2011.
Since serving her 12-month suspension issued by the California State Athletic Commission, she has scored back-to-back TKO victories over Fiona Muxlow and MarloesCoenen under the Invicta banner.
How soon will the UFC be able to add Carano, Holm and perhaps even Santos, to its women’s bantamweight division?
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
The idea of Gina Carano returning from Hollywood to take on Ronda Rousey for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship is no longer in the realm of fantasy.
Instead, it is reality in progress. UFC President Dana White has made no secret of his de…
The idea of Gina Carano returning from Hollywood to take on Ronda Rousey for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship is no longer in the realm of fantasy.
Instead, it is reality in progress. UFC President Dana Whitehas made no secret of his desire to bring Carano into the UFC for a big-money fight against his golden goose. Carano has not competed since a 2009 loss to Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino. After that loss, she turned her attention to Hollywood and the film industry.
Her inactivity doesn’t matter, however. Not when there is money to be made. And even though Carano is undoubtedly undeserving of a title shot from a pure sports perspective, the allure of raking in cash will be too much for White and the Zuffa brass to ignore. White is somehow selling the idea of Carano deserving a title shot because of all she did for women’s MMA, but that is a ludicrous claim.
Rousey vs. Carano, if it comes to fruition, is a fight made for money and nothing else.
One UFC star isn’t a fan of the idea of Carano getting an immediate title shot, and she doesn’t mind saying so. Miesha Tate, who has twice faced and lost to Rousey, appeared on Monday’s edition of MMAjunkie Radio and offered her thoughts on the prospect of Carano being placed immediately into the title picture:
I really feel that it’s just kind of a joke. It really is. Gina was a great fighter, and she’s a beautiful woman. Ronda is a great fighter, and she’s an attractive girl. But to say that Gina should be able to come in after five years of nothing and take on arguably the best female fighter ever? Come on.
Women’s MMA has been working to legitimize ourselves for so long, and we finally broke the ice, we’re finally in the UFC, and we’re getting some credibility. Don’t take that away by putting a fight together that is based entirely on looks and has little to nothing to do with skill set.
There are precedents for the UFC electing to book a big-money fight, regardless of how deserving the challenger may or may not be. ChaelSonnen was handed a title fight against Jon Jones in his first bout in the UFC’s light heavyweight division despite coming off a loss to Anderson Silva in his most recent bout. Brock Lesnar was booked to face Randy Couture for the heavyweight championship despite his 1-1 record in the UFC. And most recently, Tate herself was given a title shot against Rousey after coming off a loss to Cat Zingano.
Each of these fights became a reality because they offered the UFC a chance to pull big numbers on pay-per-view. Despite fans who would love to see deserving contenders get the shots they have earned, we must remember that this is the prize-fighting business. The UFC may present itself as a sports organization, but in reality, they are an entertainment company. The allure of making big money will always overrule the idea of giving lesser-known contenders the fights they have earned.
But still, Tate is absolutely correct. There is simply no way to justify the idea of Carano returning to fighting after five years in Hollywood and immediately getting a title shot. Especially not with a loss in her last fight. It can’t be justified from a sports perspective, anyway.
But make no mistake about it: Rousey vs. Carano is one of the biggest fights the UFC can potentially book. If Rousey beats Alexis Davis at UFC 175 in July and then defends her title against Carano on the UFC’s year-end show in December, it will be a massive fight. Gigantic. I firmly believe it is a fight that will approach or surpass 1 million pay-per-view buys. Carano still holds mainstream appeal, and Rousey is one of the UFC’s biggest mainstream stars. Both fighters are beautiful and have charisma.
I have friends who do not watch MMA on a regular basis, and they are absolutely thrilled at the idea of watching Carano fight Rousey. I suspect many of you know people who feel the same way. And that’s why this fight is inevitable.
That doesn’t make it any less of a joke, of course. And while I’d like to see White come clean and admit that he’s considering Rousey vs. Carano because it will make him money by the truckloads, I understand that he can’t use that as a selling point to the public. His job is to sell you on buying the fight, not to tell you that you should buy the fight because everyone else will.
Rousey vs. Carano will happen at some point. After it does, and after Rousey dispatches Carano like she has so many others, my hope is that other deserving contenders will get their turn in the spotlight, despite their lack of popularity or mainstream appeal. Cat Zingano should be given her opportunity. Bethe Correia is emerging as a potential contender with her campaign against Rousey’s friends. Sarah Kaufman is close to earning a rematch with Rousey, and Holly Holm will eventually sign with the UFC. Julianna Pena will eventually return from injury.
Rousey vs. Carano will shine a bright light on women’s mixed martial arts. There is no question that it will be a massive title fight. But long-term health for the division will only come by building up fighters who have earned title shots and by creating new stars who can take the turns they have earned against Rousey.
Ever since Gina Carano expressed interest in returning to the Octagon after almost six years of absence, the news has generated a tremendous amount of buzz. Her announcement has sparked rumors regarding whom the mixed martial arts fighter-turned-a…
Ever since Gina Carano expressed interest in returning to the Octagon after almost six years of absence, the news has generated a tremendous amount of buzz. Her announcement has sparked rumors regarding whom the mixed martial arts fighter-turned-action star would face upon her arrival to the UFC.
There are those who believe, including UFC president Dana White, that Carano should receive an immediate title shot and face the current bantamweight champion. However, the former Strikeforce bantamweight champion, Miesha Tate, feels that she would be best suited to welcome the former “face of women’s mixed martial arts” to the Octagon.
In a recent interview with ChaelSonnen and Kenny Florian on UFC Tonight, when asked whom she would like to fight next in the Octagon, Tate immediately named Carano as a possible opponent. She stated (full video below):
I would love a fight with Gina Carano. Honestly, you know, she’s gonna make her comeback to MMA after five and a half years, and I don’t think it makes sense to go straight for the title. So, I think I’d be a great matchup for her to come back on.
A Carano/Tate matchup would be nothing less than stellar. Although Tate has only yielded a 1-2 record since her UFC debut, she is still the division’s No. 3 contender. In addition, “Cupcake’s” feud with the current bantamweight champion is a major reason that women’s mixed martial arts exists in the UFC today, giving further credibility to the Washington native’s comments regarding a possible matchup with Carano. In fact, there is reason to believe Tate would actually beat Carano if a matchup was to occur.
“Cupcake” holds a major advantage over Carano with her deep grappling background. The 2008 second-place no-gi FILA grappling world champion’s strength lies in her ability to out-grapple many of her opponents. Almost half of Tate’s victories have come by submission, with her most notable tapout victory over former Strikeforce champion MarloesCoenen.
Previous to Carano’s extended absence from mixed martial arts, her ground game was highly suspect. That, plus nearly six years of ring rust could leave Carano defeated in her first UFC appearance—facts that Tate is willing to exploit.
Conversely, Carano has grounds in Muay Thai, and has established a successful career off her stand-up game. A win over Tate would speak volumes and put her on the map with respect to the female’s 135-pound division. It could possibly even grant her a title shot against the undefeated MMA phenom and former Olympian Ronda Rousey.
The UFC is one-third of the way through 2014, and we have already been treated to a healthy dose of MMA. There are still eight months left on the calendar, and that gives the UFC plenty more big fights to deliver to our screens.
The loss of GSP and And…
The UFC is one-third of the way through 2014, and we have already been treated to a healthy dose of MMA. There are still eight months left on the calendar, and that gives the UFC plenty more big fights to deliver to our screens.
The loss of GSP and Anderson Silva hurt the star power of the sport, but other figures are trying to fill the gaps. There was a small glimmer of hope that GSP would return by year’s end, but another knee injury will keep him out of action indefinitely.
There are still plenty of big fights to be had, and we take a look at 10 of those here. We tried to keep the matches realistic. Do not expect to see Brock Lesnar crack the list, although his return would be the biggest thing the UFC could hope for.
Fighters outside of the organization, rankings, scheduling issues and injuries will keep some of the big matches off of the table until at least 2015.
With a big roster full of talent, here are 11 of the biggest fights the UFC should make to end the year.
Let’s all say it together: Ugh.
Not to be the bearer of soul-crushing news, but the tea leaves indicate a long-rumored, much-decried fight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano may still be in the offing.
Despite the UFC’s good and proper r…
Let’s all say it together: Ugh.
Not to be the bearer of soul-crushing news, but the tea leaves indicate a long-rumored, much-decried fight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano may still be in the offing.
Despite the UFC’s good and proper recent decision to book Rousey against Alexis Davis at July’s UFC 175, company president Dana White re-stoked the fires about a Caranosuperfight on Saturday, following UFC on Fox 11.
White reportedly emerged from last week’s meeting with Carano positively glowing and indicated he’s still hopeful a deal can get done. During the Fox event’s media scrum he also defended the notion the fighter-turned-actress might step straight into a bout for Rousey’s gold.
“I do think she does (deserve an immediate title shot),” White said, via BloodyElbow.com’s Karim Zidan. “She’s legit. Everybody knows she’s legit.”
He probably said more, but the profuse groaning and hissing of his organization’s hardcore fanbase drowned out the rest. Or at least it did in our imaginations.
The obvious truth, of course, is that we have no idea how legit Carano would be five-and-a-half years removed from her last MMA win and fighting at a weight she hasn’t made since 2006. We all understand the various reasons why the UFC might let her waltz into a fight with Rousey, but—to quote the fictional gunslinger William Munny—deserve’s surely got nothing to do with it.
Fortunately, Miesha Tate was also on hand in Orlando, Fla., to save us the trouble of rehashing it all. When asked at the post-fight press conference how she’d feel about having a bout with Carano, she too had notions.
If Carano is serious about returning to MMA via the UFC’s Octagon, then Tate is a far more competitive, more defensible first fight for her than Rousey. Save for perhaps its capacity to trick non-fight fans into paying for it, it is in all ways the preferable matchup.
For one thing, Tate is the fight company’s second most famous female fighter and is coming off a victory over Liz Carmouche in the co-main event of a network television broadcast. She’s likable, used to hyping big fights and—aside from the fact she doesn’t tear people’s arms off like it’s going out of style—is every bit as good an ambassador for women’s MMA as Rousey.
Most importantly, she’s not the champion. For that reason alone, inserting her as Carano’s first UFC foe makes more sense.
For Rousey, a bout with Carano would be little more than a significant pay day and a light night of work to cap a year where she took some time off to make movies. In stark contrast, a fight against the athlete formerly hailed as “the face of women’s MMA” would be pretty meaningful for Tate’s career.
Truth is, she hasn’t been as good as we’d hoped she might be since coming over from Strikeforce with a 13-3 record. Her come-from-behind win over Carmouche last weekend was her first inside the Octagon and with two losses to Rousey already on her record, she’d have to do something pretty spectacular to get another shot at the champion.
If she managed to get a W over Carano, it would amount to a high-profile victory over a “legit” opponent (a woman the UFC steadfastly claims would be an automatic top contender) and would raise her overall profile with fans while putting her back in the 135-pound hunt.
For Carano, taking on Tate would prove she’s not just here for a one-off cash-grab or as a way to promote some upcoming film. For a 32-year-old veteran with a long layoff, it shapes up as a more desirable comeback fight, one where perhaps she won’t be tapping from an arm bar while the echoes of “let’s get it on” still hang in the air.
If actual MMA fans are drawn to watch Carano fight again at all, it’ll be out of a mild interest to see how her skills have held up during her time away. In that regard, Tate is a vastly more compelling matchup than Rousey.
We know pretty much exactly how Rousey vs. Carano would go. But Carano vs. Tate? Now, that’s interesting.
As for the UFC, a Tate-Carano fight would be a good opportunity for the company to continue forging new stars in women’s MMA. Not to mention, it would go a long way to proving the promotion is interested in more than just one women’s bantamweight.
No, it probably won’t make as much money, at least in the short term. Then again, if the UFC takes the time to build its women’s division around competitive matchups and realistic stakes, perhaps it could earn something even more valuable.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you’ve seen that Gina Carano has been the talk of the MMA town.
Sure, she hasn’t fought in years. Sure, she hasn’t fought at 135 pounds since 2006. Sure, she would probably get an undeserved title sh…
Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you’ve seen that Gina Carano has been the talk of the MMA town.
Sure, she hasn’t fought in years. Sure, she hasn’t fought at 135 pounds since 2006. Sure, she would probably get an undeserved title shot only to immediately leave again for Hollywood. But, as Chad Dundas spelled out in irrefutable fashion, the air of inevitability remains.
One day, she will need a paycheck. One day, the UFC will need a big headline. Then, it will happen.
What made her such a draw in the first place? Was she more than just a pretty face? Really, how good was Carano at this whole mixed martial arts thing?
That’s what we’re here to take a look at. What was she good at, what wasn’t she good at, and how does she stack up to other fighters today?
Find out right here.
What Did Gina Carano Do Well?
While many MMA fans try to paint the picture that Carano was a regional-level fighter who got by based on her looks, that isn’t actually true. While her muay thai pedigree was a bit overhyped, there’s no getting around the fact that she actually was a legitimate threat standing.
As one would expect from a muay thai practitioner, she owned a rangy jab, a stifling front kick and a chopping leg kick. Her bread and butter, though, was her devastatingly accurate right hand, which she frequently found success with in nearly every conceivable way.
Sometimes, she would channel her inner Roy Nelson (but not really, since her MMA career predates Nelson’s UFC career) and feint left into a big overhand right. Sometimes, she would lean back and deliver a counter right. Sometimes, it would be the punctuation mark of a combination. At all times, it was about landing that right hand.
Of course, opponents would try to hinder Carano’s punching power through clinch work and takedowns whenever possible. It was her raw physical power that let her still find success in those situations.
Indeed, Carano was able to outmuscle basically every opponent she ever faced with ease. While many of them were woefully undersized, even Cris “Cyborg” Santos (now Cris “Cyborg” Justino) was unable to consistently bully Carano in her usual fashion.
In the clinch, she was able to wrench a hand free to deliver short but damaging punches or twist things around enough to make room for knees. If opponents attempted a takedown, she was able to simply yank at them to free herself. If things hit the ground, she was able to explode before her opponent could get into a dominant position and wind up in either mount or side control with a strange degree of consistency.
Carano displayed both her lethal right hand and her pure muscle in her one-punch knockout of Rosi Sexton.
After having a takedown stuffed, Sexton clinched with Carano. Throughout the fight, Sexton had successfully limited Carano’s offensive output by keeping her very, very close. Carano, the much bigger fighter, was frequently able to swap position, though, and pressed Sexton to the cage to deliver those short punches and knees.
The ending of the fight saw her do just that but slip a huge right hand over Sexton’s shoulder. The punch landed clean to the jaw, crumbling Sexton. It was an incredibly rare one-punch knockout in women’s MMA among two legitimate competitors.
What Did Gina Carano Not Do Well?
The thing many people focus in on was her inability to make weight. Hand-in-hand with that was her iffy gas tank, which was frequently on display, even with EliteXC’s three-minute rounds.
How much of it was a lack of commitment and how much of it was an actual weakness on her part? I don’t know. What I can say for sure is that the holes in her game didn’t end there.
While Carano had solid hands, her kicking game was severely lacking. She was capable of kicking very hard, of course, but those kicks were thrown without being set up and were rarely followed up.
The dangers of throwing hard leg kicks without any kind of setup are obvious these days following Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva 2 (oh, and Tyrone Spong vs. Gokhan Saki). In addition to that, Carano would often open rounds by spamming front kicks to the body. In both cases, she was at high risk of being taken down.
In the clinch and on the ground, as we discussed earlier, she was able to consistently escape danger. That said, she would also frequently find herself in dominant positions with no clue how to use them.
The most egregious example of this sort of wasted chance came when she faced off with Cyborg. When the Brazilian muffed a throw attempt from the clinch, Carano found herself in full mount position. She immediately postured up and began throwing punches as Cyborg moved toward half-guard. Carano, rather than actually trying to maintain mount (or even just being content that she wasn’t losing a brawl against Cyborg anymore) abandoned it, needlessly giving up a prime offensive opportunity.
Both her kicks and her inability to take advantage of strong ground position suggest poor risk management and, in turn, suggest a low fight IQ.
That, frankly, is both to be expected and entirely forgivable. Keep in mind, while Carano is undeniably a pioneer of women’s MMA, her career was just three years and eight fights long. Even those three years weren’t exactly full-time MMA, as she fit in various media obligations and TV appearances that wound up being the preview for her leaving the sport.
Fans never really got to see a “complete” Carano in the cage. While there was an undeniable progression in her overall abilities as time progressed, she never wound up with the veteran savvy to become an elite-level mixed martial artist.
How Would Carano Fare in Today’s Women’s Division?
Obviously, when it comes to Carano, there are many factors to consider when it comes to a possible UFC run in 2014.
She hasn’t fought since August 2009. She had trouble making weight, even when it came to 140 pounds. It’s unknown how much she has been training since leaving the sport.
It’s basically impossible to say how much better or (far more likely) worse a 2014 version of Carano is compared to the 2008 model. Because of that, let’s simply hypothesize using her circa 2008.
It has been said many times but is worth repeating: Women’s MMA today is far, far more evolved than it was a few years ago. When Carano was a top female fighter, weight classes were borderline nonexistent, and fighters’ skill sets were still very narrow.
While women’s MMA is still a work in progress, legitimate athletes and world-class grapplers are funneling into the sport en masse. There were no Ronda Rouseys or Sara McManns in 2008, and the difference between today’s best and the best of 2008 is apparent every time they happen to face off.
Carano was ahead of her time in the same way Chuck Liddell was ahead of other fighters back in the day. Her striking was generally superior to her competition, and her grappling game was evolved just enough to avoid being put in a position where she couldn’t use it. That is a concept the competition just hadn’t quite grasped yet, and it’s something female mixed martial artists are still in the process of rectifying.
A combination of formidable striking and raw physical strength won’t make her a champion at this point—not with Ronda Rousey around, at least—but it would definitely be enough to get wins.
The Ultimate Fighter 18 runners-up and undersized scrappers like Amanda Nunes and Bethe Correia would likely be easy pickings for Carano (who, as it stands, is good enough to qualify as Top 10 right now). Past that lot, though, it is a question of individual matchups.
Would she be able to compete with Sara McMann and Ronda Rousey, who have Olympic medals in takedowns? Probably not.
Would she be able to avoid the mat against less accomplished fighters who have grappling backgrounds like Cat Zingano, Alexis Davis and Miesha Tate? Could she do work in the clinch against formidable dirty boxers like Jessica Eye and Sarah Kaufman?
It’s tough to say but ultimately irrelevant. If Carano is going to make a comeback, it will almost certainly be against Rousey, and only Rousey. It’s unlikely she would stick around following a loss, and it’s borderline impossible that she would take the belt.
If she entered the field like a regular fighter, didn’t lose much strength from the weight cut and was on par today with where she was with EliteXC, she would be a welcome addition to the division.
Carano, however, probably won’t end up being a real part of the division. In reality, she is a sideshow that shows how desperate the UFC is for star power at this point.
The idea of