Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson added Julie Kedzie vs. Alexis Davis to their fight card! Though we were all saddened that Gina Carano wasn’t medically cleared for her June return to Strikeforce—hey, what the hell? How.
Alexis Davis (left) and Julie Kedzie (right)
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson added Julie Kedzie vs. Alexis Davis to their fight card! Though we were all saddened that Gina Caranowasn’t medically cleared for her June return to Strikeforce—hey, what the hell? How come we were all down on Nate Marquardt‘s junk (*Note I said down, ’cause his testosterone is low…whatever, that joke totally went over your head) to give us the truth and we don’t even know what kept Carano from fighting??? We are so sexist! Regardless, thank you Strikeforce for this match up between two pretty smokin’ hot tough ladies, as you can see by my side by side comparison above.
We’re not excited because Alexis Davis and Julie Kedzie are pretty. If you’ve watched any of those Ultimate Female Sexual Wrestling porn videos, you’d know “pretty” isn’t exactly a requirement to get excited. We’re actually excited to see two very capable women slug it out, roll around, and choke each other in hopes that maybe one day Dana White will welcome them into the UFC Octagon.
So we look forward to seeing these girls in compromising positions as they’ve looked in past fights,
here:
Alexis Davis (black trunks) vs. Shayna Baszler
and here:
Julie Kedzie vs. Gina Carano
And if you clicked on this post hoping to see PG porn, you have problems you *semi-pervert, but you can totally check out some great PG porn with Sasha Grey: here and Craig Robinson from The Office: here.
(*semi-pervert only because the videos contain no actual sex, but they’re really funny.)
Well, Cris “Cyborg” Santos is officially a free agent, which either means that Strikeforce was unwilling to pay her what she felt she was worth, or that Zuffa has decided against continuing to promote women’s MMA under the SF banner. Either way, it’s a blow to the promotion’s women’s division.
A source we spoke to today received confirmation from Cyborg’s management that Zuffa’s exclusive negotiation period with the 10-1 Curitiba, Brazil fighter ended yesterday and that the parent company of Strikeforce and the UFC failed to come to terms with the Strikeforce women’s middleweight champ before she became a free agent at the stroke of midnight.
Well, Cris “Cyborg” Santos is officially a free agent, which either means that Strikeforce was unwilling to pay her what she felt she was worth, or that Zuffa has decided against continuing to promote women’s MMA under the SF banner. Either way, it’s a blow to the promotion’s women’s division.
A source we spoke to today received confirmation from Cyborg’s management that Zuffa’s exclusive negotiation period with the 10-1 Curitiba, Brazil fighter ended yesterday and that the parent company of Strikeforce and the UFC failed to come to terms with the Strikeforce women’s middleweight champ before she became a free agent at the stroke of midnight.
According to Santos’ former manager Ken Pavia who helped negotiate the deal that was fulfilled with her last fight with Jan Finney on June 26, 2010, there was a champion’s clause in her contract, which he said he thought would extend her deal. But according to another we spoke to who is close to the situation, the clause had a one-year expiration date and when Strikeforce failed to re-sign her or offer her a fight by June 26, they waived their right to exercise the option.
You may recall that former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields had a similar proviso in his contract, but when Scott Coker and co. figured there was little chance of resigning him, they granted him a release rather than make him sit out the one-year waiting period.
We’re told that Cris is in serious discussions with a promotion that we’ve been asked not to name until the deal is finalized and that she could have a new contract in place as early as this weekend. Wherever Gina Carano is, she’s thanking her lucky stars.
We will have updates the situation when we are given the go-ahead to release them by the parties involved.
Women’s MMA has has an even shorter history than men’s MMA but what it lacks in length it makes up in ferocity; female fighters are often tenacious, have the most heart and usually provide the most exciting matches on the card.Despite these attributes,…
Women’s MMA has has an even shorter history than men’s MMA but what it lacks in length it makes up in ferocity; female fighters are often tenacious, have the most heart and usually provide the most exciting matches on the card.
Despite these attributes, women’s MMA finds itself in an interesting quandary in mid-2011.
The UFC—an organization known to have a hard stance against women’s MMA (abbreviated as WMMA)—has recently purchased Strikeforce, the organization with the single largest concentration of female MMA talent in the world. (this issue and others are discussed at length in a piece by fellow Bleacher Report member Brian Barker).
WMMA is threatened but at the same time seemingly approaching a new renaissance, Strikeforce continues to promote it, a women’s MMA fight conference/summit in which many female fighters will meet and train is to be held soon and the MMA world awaits the Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Championship fight between champion Marloes Coenen and challenger Miesha Tate with great interest.
It is the last item on the list that is the most intriguing, the title fight between Tate and Coenen. To the short-sighted MMA fan, the fight just seems like business as usual but the truth of the matter is that the fight is far more important; the fight may help to determine the future of women’s MMA!
The (unfortunate) truth of the matter is this: Like in any sport—and MMA is no exception (be it women’s or men’s)—there are certain athletes that are used as figure-heads or poster-boys. These are the people that fans instantly recognize and are used to either market or further the goals of their respective sport.
For example, look at UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, he helped/is helping bring MMA into the limelight by appearing on various commercials and being such a palatable superstar for the unwashed masses who don’t know much about MMA.
The central figure in women’s MMA since it came to the mainstream was Gina Carano. Her exciting fighting style as well as sex appeal (this is a considerable aspect of a female athlete’s popularity, love it or hate it) helped to make her an instant star.
Carano was given a massive push throughout her stint with EliteXC and, when the organization folded, was given a title shot against Brazilian terror Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos. Carano came up short, took a hiatus from MMA to venture into acting, and tried to return but ultimately could not.
Although Carano vows to return soon, soon isn’t good enough. She has been out of the picture since 2009 and her memory with fans known for their legendary fickleness may be beginning to fade.
This is where Tate vs. Coenen comes in.
Miesha Tate is the winner of Strikeforce’s women tournament held last August. Winning this tournament earned her a title shot at Marloes Coenen, a feared Dutch submission fighter known for her arm bars.
Should Tate—an attractive women by anyone’s standards—be victorious, it would be a huge boon to women’s MMA.
First, and sadly, Strikeforce women’s middleweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos isn’t too popular and is brutalized by keyboard warriors (who couldn’t last 30 seconds in the cage with her) for her looks. This is one of the most unfortunate circumstances in MMA; Cyborg is such a gifted and talented fighter but no one seems to care!
This sad truth would mean that, with a Tate victory, Strikeforce would finally have a female champion that it could turn into a powerful draw. Tate’s looks and charisma would help bring new fans to WMMA and would aid them in realizing that women do belong in the cage.
Second, it would help to promote the wider women’s mma world, meaning that fans would finally realize there is more than just the division that Gina Carano fights in.
This is all not to say that Gina Carano is gone forever and Miesha Tate will replace her. It’s just that a Tate victory will do a lot for women’s MMA; if Carano manages to return to form there will be two stars in women’s MMA instead of just one.
Of course, women’s MMA isn’t limited to just two starts in the future. The aforementioned soon-to-take-place summit of female fighters is proof of the fact that the sport is growing amongst women. Perhaps one of the now unknown fighters there will be one of the the future faces of women’s MMA?
So, is Miesha Tate the future of women’s MMA if she defeats Marloes Coenen? Yes, Tate will enjoy a substantial rise in popularity and will likely become a star in WMMA on Gina Carano’s level.
However, Tate will not always be the future of WMMA; with the growth of the sport will come new female fighters who will also become popular. Eventually, WMMA will end up with several figure-heads just like men’s MMA. There will be a Gina Carano and a Miesha Tate for every Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre.
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– Team Gina Carano Updates Strikeforce on Health Condition via Vague Email (5thRound)
– Pete Sell Returns to Competition After Two-Year Absence, Wins Ring of Combat Welterweight Title (TheFightNerd)
– The New CEO of ProElite Explains to Us How the Company Plans to Be the Number Two MMA Organization in the World (MiddleEasy)
– Werdum and Gloom: The Politics of Pulling Guard (NBC Sports MMA)
– Chad Griggs vs. Daniel Cormier Could Be ‘Logical Next Step’ for Strikeforce (MMA Fighting)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– Team Gina Carano Updates Strikeforce on Health Condition via Vague Email (5thRound)
– Pete Sell Returns to Competition After Two-Year Absence, Wins Ring of Combat Welterweight Title (TheFightNerd)
– The New CEO of ProElite Explains to Us How the Company Plans to Be the Number Two MMA Organization in the World (MiddleEasy)
– Werdum and Gloom: The Politics of Pulling Guard (NBC Sports MMA)
– Chad Griggs vs. Daniel Cormier Could Be ‘Logical Next Step’ for Strikeforce (MMA Fighting)
Gina Carano will be ready to resume training “very soon.”There were plenty of rumors circulating about why Carano wasn’t medically cleared to compete on the Strikeforce: Dallas card, but Carano’s team laid those rumors to rest in a text message read to…
Gina Carano will be ready to resume training “very soon.”
There were plenty of rumors circulating about why Carano wasn’t medically cleared to compete on the Strikeforce: Dallas card, but Carano’s team laid those rumors to rest in a text message read to the media by Scott Coker.
“Gina is feeling much better after having undergone some medical attention and is looking forward to getting back into training very soon. She would like to express thanks to Team Jackson for a wonderful training camp, Strikeforce, and the fans.”
Carano hasn’t fought since losing to Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos in August 2009. After the bout, the proposed “Face of Women’s MMA” went on an extended hiatus to shoot the upcoming action film “Haywire”.
Carano announced in February that she was preparing to make her MMA return, and Strikeforce eventually settled on the Dallas event and Sarah D’Alelio as an opponent.
As the fight approached, it was announced that Carano had to pull out of the bout due to unknown medical reasons.
Coker wasn’t able to elaborate on Carano’s medical condition or a return date.
Gina Carano‘s team sent a text message to Strikeforce CEO, Scott Coker that said: “Gina is feeling much better after having undergone some medical attention and is looking forward to getting back into training very.
Gina Carano‘s team sent a text message to Strikeforce CEO, Scott Coker that said:
“Gina is feeling much better after having undergone some medical attention and is looking forward to getting back into training very soon. She would like to express thanks to Team Jackson for a wonderful training camp, Strikefore, and the fans.”
It’s likely we can shoot down those pregnancy rumors… And anyway, apparently some preggo fighters cans still fight, we assume since some quack cleared this woman. So what else could it be as to why she wasn’t medically cleared to fight this past Saturday? Usually when fighters aren’t cleared, we are told they have bulging neck discs or (non-STD related) herpes. But we have yet to receive any explanation from Carano’s camp and it may be we never will… and that just blows.
Women’s MMA has has an even shorter history than men’s MMA but what it lacks in length it makes up in ferocity; female fighters are often tenacious, have the most heart and usually provide the most exciting matches on the card.
