Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsFormer U.S. Olympian Ronda Rousey won her first Strikeforce fight in short order Friday night, beating Sarah D’Alelio with an arm bar in just 25 seconds. Unfortunately, Rousey’s performance isn’t what everyone will be talk…
Former U.S. Olympian Ronda Rousey won her first Strikeforce fight in short order Friday night, beating Sarah D’Alelio with an arm bar in just 25 seconds. Unfortunately, Rousey’s performance isn’t what everyone will be talking about.
Instead, the story of the fight was that referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight even though D’Alelio didn’t tap out.
Rousey used her world-class judo technique to take D’Alelio down and sink in an armbar at the start of the first round, but D’Alelio seemed poised and ready to fight off the arm bar, and she did not tap out. Surprisingly, Mazzagatti stepped in and stopped the fight anyway.
Afterward, Rousey and D’Alelio offered differing accounts of what happened: Rousey claimed that D’Alelio verbally submitted by saying, “tap, tap.” D’Alelio said she did no such thing. Mazzagatti did not give a post-fight interview to explain what happened.
Replacing Carano vs. D’Alelio on the televised card of the June 18th Showtime event will be the lightweight title eliminator between KJ Noons and Jorge Masvidal, which was originally slated for the prelims. The promotion may find a replacement opponent for D’Alelio, and will announce more details later. We’ll update you when we know more.
(Whatever’s wrong with her, it’s probably nothing that one of my famous back-massages couldn’t cure. #creeper)
Replacing Carano vs. D’Alelio on the televised card of the June 18th Showtime event will be the lightweight title eliminator between KJ Noons and Jorge Masvidal, which was originally slated for the prelims. The promotion may find a replacement opponent for D’Alelio, and will announce more details later. We’ll update you when we know more.
*UPDATE*According to a story by Loretta Hunt on SI.com, Carano actually passed all of her medical requirements to be licensed by the State of Texas (including a physician’s examination, an ophthalmologic exam and requisite blood test) for the bout with D’Alelio. A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Licensing — the department responsible for fighter licensing told Hunt that their office was contacted today by an unnamed party that informed them that the popular female fighter would not be fighting next week. No reason was specified.
“Gina Carano had met all of the state of Texas’ requirements and the agency received notice today that she was off the card,” Susan Stanford, the public information officer for the Texas Department of Licensing explained.
But Scott Coker said she wasn’t medically cleared to fight…
Without further comment, Scott Coker announced in the Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum press conference today that Gina Carano was not medically cleared to participate in her scheduled June 18th bout and her fight against Sarah.
Without further comment, Scott Coker announced in the Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum press conference today that Gina Carano was not medically cleared to participate in her scheduled June 18th bout and her fight against Sarah D’Alelio would be replaced by KJ Noons vs. Masvidal. At the press conference today, Coker said he hadn’t spoken directly with Carano but that her representative released the statement:
“I’m seriously disappointed not to be fighting on June 18. I’d like to thank Greg Jackson and Team Jackson for such an amazing camp. I hope this is only a brief setback.”
A replacement for Carano has not been announced and no further information has been released regarding her medical condition. Thus, rumors are born and bred and one in particular is that Gina Carano is pregnant. We will have to wait for further announcements or maybe we can pay off a close friend of Carano’s to get the scoop. In the meantime, D’Alelio tweeted: “DAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMIT!!!”
Well, with a reaction like that, we don’t expect to see D’Alelio invited to the baby shower.
Gina Carano will have to wait a little longer to make her return to the cage.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced Tuesday afternoon to open a media conference call that Carano will not be fighting on June 18 against Sarah D’Alelio. Coker said Carano did not receive medical clearance from her doctor.
“I’m disappointed not to be fighting June 18. I’d like to thank (coach and trainer) Greg Jackson … and I hope this is just a brief setback,” Carano said in a prepared statement read by Coker.
Carano’s return was scheduled for the main card of Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum, which airs on Showtime and features the second two quarterfinal fights of the promotion’s heavyweight tournament.
Coker said the promotion did not have any additional details yet for the reason Carano was not cleared to fight. He said a lightweight top contenders fight between KJ Noons and Jorge Masvidal, originally scheduled to air on HDNet as part of the prelims, will be elevated to the main card, which airs on Showtime.
“I know she’s really disappointed. We talked to her representatives,” Coker said. “It’s an unfortunate situation, and we’ll be moving forward with the KJ Noons-(Masvidal) fight. We just don’t have any other further information on Gina.”
Coker said D’Alelio does not yet have a new opponent for the Dallas card and was unsure if she would still fight on the show. He said he hoped a decision would be made on D’Alelio’s spot on the card by the end of Tuesday.
Carano (7-1, 1-1 Strikeforce), a Dallas area native, was to make her return to the cage for the first time since a loss in August 2009 to Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos in a Strikeforce women’s middleweight title fight. She has been out of fighting action while pursuing a film career, including a role in “Haywire,” a film directed by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh, scheduled for release later this year.
On Saturday, Coker told MMA Fighting in Las Vegas prior to the UFC’s TUF 13 Finale that despite Carano’s movie future, he believes she still has the drive to continue fighting, as well.
“Gina has a successful career in film now,” Coker said. “She’s done this Steven Soderbergh movie, and I heard it’s been getting great reviews. They’re feeling this could really launch her film career. What I respect about Gina is, she’s a fighter at heart. This is something she wants to do.”
But Coker also said Carano’s layoff of nearly two years could be a factor – and told MMA Fighting he believed she likely was thinking about possible cage rust.
“I think deep inside, there has to be a little bit of ‘What is it gonna look like? How am I gonna perform?,'” Coker said. “There must be, after two years, a little bit of doubt. I think she’s going to have a good showing, and I think she’s going to be in a tough fight. I think Sarah is going to be a girl who is going to be up there and be in her face.”
Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum takes place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The main card features two quarterfinal fights in the promotion’s Heavyweight Grand Prix – heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers. Noons-Masvidal now joins the heavyweight tournament bouts, plus two heavyweight tournament reserve fights.
Though the heavyweight tournament should be sufficient to draw viewers to Showtime, Coker told MMA Fighting on Saturday having Carano on the card was being looked at as a solid opportunity to bolster the ratings.
“It’s going to be a great event because Gina, let’s face it, had the highest rated Showtime event for two years or something like that,” Coker said. “The (Fedor vs. Silva) event in New Jersey beat that, but that was the heavyweight tournament. Gina and Cyborg held the rating. Showtime loves her, the media loves her – she’s got that X factor. And she’s on her way to a film career.”
Coker said despite the long layoff for the 29-year-old who was christened as “the face of women’s MMA” several years ago, he didn’t believe Carano wanted to come back and just fight sporadically. He said he envisioned Carano returning so she could challenge for a title again.
“I respect she doesn’t want to fight once,” Coker said. “She wants to fight in the fall, next year … she has this game plan in her mind and fighting’s important to her. Let’s see how far she can take it. She wants to come back, and the game plan depends on how she does in the first couple fights. But you have that fight in you, you’ve got that dog in you – you want to fight. She has that in her. She’s going to continue to do (films and fighting).”
Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsGina Carano’s opponent for her long-awaited return fight will be Sarah D’Alelio, a Washington-based fighter with a 4-1 record who goes by the nickname “The Monster.”
Gina Carano‘s opponent for her long-awaited return fight will be Sarah D’Alelio, a Washington-based fighter with a 4-1 record who goes by the nickname “The Monster.”
Sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that both fighters have agreed to the bout, which will take place on June 18 in Dallas. Over the last week, D’Alelio’s name had been rumored as a possibility, but sources tell MMA Fighting that it’s now essentially a done deal, and that the matchup may be officially announced as early as next week.
We know we asked Strikeforce for a hot chick to face Gina Carano…and that’s not to say we didn’t get one, but… There’s a reason someone nicknamed Sarah D’Alelio, “The Monster” right? I mean, don’t call us jerks! We didn’t do it!
MMAJunkie says the two are reportedly set to meet in the cage this June […]
MMAJunkie says the two are reportedly set to meet in the cage this June 18th in Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum. The article clarifies the fight has yet to be signed by either party, but should the tilt happen, both fighters will have an axe to grind as each of their last fights were the first losses suffered on their professional records.
Former U.S. Olympian Ronda Rousey won her first Strikeforce fight in short order Friday night, beating Sarah D’Alelio with an arm bar in just 25 seconds. Unfortunately, Rousey’s performance isn’t what everyone will be talking about.
