Although the hot buzz in the fighting world is the neverending machine that is Brock Lesnar's mouth, there is something that has been on my mind in MMA for many months.
The past seven times mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano has entered the cage, she has come out victorious, and on Aug. 15th, she will enter the cage once more, only this time she will be competiting for the first women's MMA championship (at the 145 lb level) against Christiane "Cyborg" Santos at the Affliction pay per view. This has been a fight, many in the MMA world has been talking about.
For the past few years, Carano has been referred to as the face of women's MMA. She has also been referred to as a fake because of the attention she has recieved from the media, as well as her time on American Gladiators where she portrayed Crush, who went undefeated in the Joust event. This was the first time I had ever seen her and although I'm not really a believer of love at first sight, I was hooked on GinaMania or I guess to throw the pun out there, I had a "Crush" on Crush.
Although I am sure that many enjoy bashing Gina, she is quite the real deal when it comes to MMA. Currently she has a record of seven wins and zero losses, three by unaminous decision, three by knockout (one was a TKO) and one by submission.
While many were skeptical in her first several matches, it was her fight with Kelly Kobold that silenced her critics, I mean people posting their comments on Youtube on how she was a fake, an attention hug, etc. She expresses a passion for the sport of MMA and obsession to be the best.
As I had watched from the newsroom alley with my fellow editors (having missed the event the Saturday due to some social event) she dominated Kobold, a talented fighter in her own right, with her fists.
In addition to her mix martial arts career, Carano is a muy thai coach at Xtreme Couture and a kickboxing champion in Japan.
However, Santos is no amatuer. She is also trained in muy thai as well as Brazilian Jujitsu. Her record is 7-1, with her only loss being in her first match against Erica Paes. Two of her wins have gone to decisions, while five of them have been TKOs.
Like all championship bouts, the Carano vs. Cyborg title bout will be five rounds with five minutes each. No matter who wins this bout, there is no question that these two women will make history in women's mixed martial arts.
Although I am a fan of a good match up, it's no secret who I'm rooting for in this fight. Go Gina!
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