Gina Carano

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Gina Carano

Carano in 2009
Born April 16, 1982 (1982-04-16) (age 29)
Dallas County, Texas, United States
Other names Conviction, Crush
Nationality American
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight 143 lb (64.9 kg; 10.2 st)
Division Women's Middleweight (145 lb)
Style Boxing, Muay Thai
Fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mexico
Team Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts
Trainer Greg Jackson
Years active 2006-2009 (MMA)
Kickboxing record
Total 14
Wins 12
Losses 1
Draws 1
Mixed martial arts record
Total 8
Wins 7
By knockout 3
By submission 1
By decision 3
Losses 1
By knockout 1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is an American actress, television personality, and retired mixed martial arts fighter. Carano appeared as the Gladiator "Crush" on American Gladiators. She has been referred to as the "Face of Women's MMA."[1]

Carano was formerly the #3-ranked 145-pound female fighter in the world according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings.[2][3]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Carano was born in Dallas County, Texas, the middle daughter of Glenn Carano and Dana Teepe (nee Cason). She has two sisters.[4][5] Carano has said that she is a "small percentage" of Italian descent.[6] Her father played for the Dallas Cowboys as a backup quarterback from 1977–1983 and for the USFL Pittsburgh Maulers as a starter in 1984, their only year of operations.

She graduated from Trinity Christian High School in Las Vegas, Nevada where she led the girls basketball team to a state title. She played volleyball and softball.[7] She attended the University of Nevada, Reno for a year and then University of Nevada, Las Vegas for three, where she majored in psychology.[5]

[edit] Mixed martial arts career

Carano started her career in the sport of Muay Thai. After achieving a Muay Thai record of 12-1-1,[8] Carano received an offer from Jamie Levine to participate in the first-ever sanctioned female MMA bout in Nevada with World Extreme Fighting to fight Leiticia Pestova. She was invited to the World Pro Fighting show in Las Vegas to fight Rosi Sexton.[9] Carano won the fight by knocking out Sexton late in the second round.

Carano faced Elaina Maxwell at Strikeforce: Triple Threat on December 8, 2006. She won the fight via unanimous decision.[10] Carano proved critics wrong when she defeated Maxwell for the second time; the first victory coming in a Muay Thai bout. The fight was the first female fight in Strikeforce.

She fought on the February 10, 2007, Showtime EliteXC card, defeating Julie Kedzie via unanimous decision in what was called the "Fight of the Night."[11] The fight was the first televised female fight on Showtime.

Her scheduled bout against Jan Finney at the EliteXC/K-1 Dynamite!! USA event on June 2, 2007 was canceled due to illness. The Fight Network and other news outlets reported that she was rushed to the hospital via ambulance due to dehydration while attending a World Extreme Cagefighting event as a spectator.[12]

Carano fought on the September 15, 2007, Showtime EliteXC card, where she defeated Tonya Evinger via rear naked choke for her first career win by submission.[13] Carano impressed critics by holding her own on the ground before submitting Evinger late in the first round.

Carano defeated former HOOKnSHOOT Champion Kaitlin Young at EliteXC: Primetime on May 31, 2008.[14] A day before the fight, Carano failed to make weight for her fight after weighing in at 144.5 lb (65.5 kg). Although most MMA organizations set weight classes at 135 (bantamweight) and 145 (featherweight) pounds (61.2 and 65.8 kg, respectively), EliteXC opted to create a women's weight class at 140 pounds.[15] Carano agreed to forfeit 12.5% of her "show" purse to Young, and the fight remained on the card.[16]

Leading up to her fight against Kelly Kobold, there was much controversy over whether or not Gina would make weight for the fight, as she had fought only once in the past year and had failed to make weight. Gina assured critics that she would be able to make weight since she had hired a nutritionist to help with her dieting. At the weigh-in for the Kobold fight on October 3, 2008, Gina Carano weighed in at 142.75 pounds on her first attempt.[17] After removing her sports bra, a towel-covered Carano weighed in a second time at 142.5 pounds.[18] On her third attempt, without any clothes on, Carano weighed 141 pounds[19] and successfully made weight.

Early on, Kobold was intent on pressing Carano in the clinch, while working for the takedown throughout the fight. Kobold managed a takedown in the second round, but the round ended before she could take meaningful advantage of it. Carano worked her opportunities by hitting Kobold at every turn whenever the fighters separated, while opening a huge gash on the inside of her opponent's eyebrow in the first round.[20] At the end of the third round, Carano looked to finish the fight as she unloaded a head kick that landed flush on Kobold's chin, but Kobold remained on her feet and the bout came to a close.[21]

Carano won by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)[22] and remained undefeated. After she won, she dedicated the fight to her grandfather.

[edit] Strikeforce Women's Middleweight Championship bout

After Strikeforce purchased the assets of ProElite, Carano, along with other fighters within the defunct promotion, became contractually linked with Strikeforce after many months of a stalemate regarding their free agent status.[23]

It was announced at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields that Carano's fight against Cristiane Santos would take place on August 15, 2009, at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg. Strikeforce created their first Women's Championship for the bout.

Though the 145-pound division is most commonly referred to as featherweight, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated that the title would be known as the Strikeforce Women's Lightweight Championship.[24] The title was later renamed the Strikeforce Women's Middleweight Championship.[25]

Carano lost the fight against Santos by TKO at 4:59 in the first round.[26]

However, January 2012 revelations may question the validity of Carano’s loss to Cyborg. On January 6, 2012, the California State Athletic Commission announced Cyborg tested positive for steroids after her December 2011 fight. She was suspended for one year, receiving a $2,500 fine.[27]

“This result undoubtedly raises suspicions about all her wins,” writes Jack Bratcher at prommanow.com. “How long has she been using? Are all her wins tainted?...Was her win over Gina Carano real?”[28]

Others concur. “It also calls into question whether her accomplishments in the cage have always been tainted by the use of performance-enhancing drugs,” added Michael David Smith, lead blogger at MMAfighting.org.[29]

On January 17, 2012, Cyborg filed an appeal of the suspension.[30]

[edit] Return

Following her loss to Santos, Carano was out of action for the remainder of 2009 and the entirety of 2010. In November 2010, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated he was hopeful that she would return in 2011.[31] Carano's return was formally announced in February 2011.[32]

Strikeforce announced at its April 9 event in San Diego that Carano would make her return on June 18 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, during the Overeem vs. Werdum Strikeforce event. Her opponent will be Sarah D'Alelio. This bout will be the first women's bout ever held by Zuffa, who have been detractors of women's MMA in the past. Critics assert that the reason for the turnaround is Carano's marketability.[33][34][35] Initially Strikeforce announced Carano failed her pre-fight medical examination due to an unknown issue and the fight was pulled from the card.[36] Rumors abound that Carano was pregnant.[37] As the story continues to develop it's become public that Carano was medically cleared by the Athletic Commission but was removed from the card for unknown reasons. Her return date is unknown; Carano has not fought or been scheduled for a match since August 2009.[38] Carano will make her first public appearance at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con since her mysterious removal from Strikeforce's June 18th event.[39]

[edit] Outside martial arts

Carano starred in the cult film Ring Girls.[40] Based on true events, Ring Girls is a fast-paced story about five American women from Las Vegas who take on the ultimate challenge of fighting the best female Muay Thai fighters in the world.[41]

Along with Lisa King, Carano served as a mentor to aspiring female fighters in the Oxygen reality series Fight Girls. She appeared as "Crush" on the NBC show American Gladiators, in which she starred in the workout video of the show along with Monica Carlson (Jet), Jennifer Widerstrom (Phoenix), Michael O'Hearn (Titan), Tanoai Reed (Toa) and Don "Hollywood" Yates (Wolf). The DVD was released on December 16, 2008. She is featured in the Michael Jai White film Blood and Bone.[42]

She was profiled in a feature story for the ESPN series E:60, and was voted "Hottest Woman In America" by Big Biz Magazine in the Spring 2008 issue.[43] On May 13, 2008, "Gina Carano" was the fastest-rising search on Google and third most searched person on Yahoo!.[4][44] She has appeared in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 as Natasha,[45] a purchasable hero unit, portraying the Soviet sniper/commando in various cutscenes.

She was ranked as #5 on the "Top Ten Influential Women of 2008" list on Yahoo![46]

In May 2009, it was announced that Carano was ranked #16 in Maxim's Hot 100 list.

On September 6, 2009, she was reported as playing the leading role in a new spy thriller movie Haywire directed by Steven Soderbergh.[47][48]

She is one of the cover athletes along with Serena Williams[49] for the October 19, 2009 edition of ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue. Carano and Williams were two of the athletes featured in a book by Dana Rasmussen.

[edit] Personal life

Gina's ex-boyfriend Kevin Ross, a pro Muay Thai fighter, got her involved in Muay Thai.[50]

[edit] Mixed martial arts record

Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 7–1 Cristiane Santos TKO (punches) Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg 02009-08-15 August 15, 2009 1 4:59 San Jose, California, United States For the Women's Featherweight Championship
Win 7–0 Kelly Kobold Decision (unanimous) EliteXC: Heat 02008-10-04 October 4, 2008 3 3:00 Sunrise, Florida, United States
Win 6–0 Kaitlin Young TKO (doctor stoppage) EliteXC: Primetime 02008-05-31 May 31, 2008 2 3:00 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Win 5–0 Tonya Evinger Submission (rear naked choke) EliteXC: Uprising 02007-09-15 September 15, 2007 1 2:53 Oahu, Hawaii, United States
Win 4–0 Julie Kedzie Decision (unanimous) EliteXC: Destiny 02007-02-10 February 10, 2007 3 3:00 Southaven, Mississippi, United States EliteXC Debut
Win 3–0 Elaina Maxwell Decision (unanimous) Strikeforce: Triple Threat 02006-12-08 December 8, 2006 3 2:00 San Jose, California, United States Strikeforce Debut
Win 2–0 Rosi Sexton KO (punch) World Pro Fighting Championships 1 02006-09-15 September 15, 2006 2 4:55 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 1–0 Leiticia Pestova KO (punches and elbows) World Extreme Fighting 02006-06-10 June 10, 2006 1 0:38 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Ring Girls Muay Thai Fighter/Herself Video
2005 Countdown to Destiny Herself TV documentary
2006 Fight Girls N/A TV series
2008 American Gladiators Crush TV series
2008 American Gladiators Ultimate Workout Crush Video
2008 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Natasha Volkova Video Game
2008 Fatal Femmes Fighting: Asian Invasion Herself Video
2009 Blood and Bone Verett Film
2011 I Am Bruce Lee Herself TV documentary (post-production)
2012 Haywire Mallory Kane Film
2013 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters Circe Film (pre-production) (rumored) -->

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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  2. ^ "Unified Women's Mixed Martial Arts Rankings". MMARising.com. http://www.mmarising.com/rankings/unified-womens-mixed-martial-arts-rankings/. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
  3. ^ "Unified Women's Rankings". FighterGirls.com. http://www.fightergirls.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3648. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
  4. ^ a b Kevin Iole (May 28, 2008). Carano wants to be fighter first, star later. Yahoo Sports. Alt: [1]. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  5. ^ a b "interview Gina Carano". mat-magazine.com. http://www.mat-magazine.com/mat/content/view/2471/20/. Retrieved 2008-09-16. [dead link]
  6. ^ "Full Transcript Of Exclusive Gina Carano Interview". MMA News. 2007-01-31. http://www.mmanews.com/news/81579. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
  7. ^ Jack Sheehan (September 1, 2007) Don't let her good looks fool you Stunning Gina Carano has a near-perfect record in mixed martial arts Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  8. ^ "Full Transcript Of Exclusive Gina Carano Interview". http://www.mmanews.com/other/Full-Transcript-Of-Exclusive-Gina-Carano-Interview.html. 
  9. ^ "World Pro Fighting - Las Vegas, September 15, 2006". WPFight.com. http://www.wpfight.com/?page=galf&cat=media. Retrieved 2007-09-16. 
  10. ^ "Le Wins on Cut, Southworth Takes Strikeforce Belt". SHERDOG.com. 2006-12-08. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/1/Le-Wins-on-Cut-Southworth-Takes-Strikeforce-Belt-6319. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
  11. ^ "EXC live coverage from Southaven, MS". WrestlingObserver.com. http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/news/headlines/default.asp?aID=18625. Retrieved 2007-09-16. 
  12. ^ Sick Carano Off EliteXC Card (May 17, 2008) Sherdog.com'.' Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  13. ^ "Elite XC notes: Carano carries torch for sport". Yahoo! Sports. 2007-06-16. http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=dd-091607excnotes&prov=yhoo&type=lgns. Retrieved 2009-08-09. 
  14. ^ Ariel Helwani (May 28, 2008) Carano: 'I just didn't really want to stay out of the ring' Fox Sports'.' Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  15. ^ "GinaCarano and Weight Cutting". BLOODYELBOW.com. 2007-09-26. http://www.bloodyelbow.com/story/2007/9/26/1056/08812. Retrieved 2009-08-09. [dead link]
  16. ^ Carano Misses Weight (May 30, 2008) Sherdog.com'.' Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  17. ^ "Gina Carano Gets Naked on the Scale to Make Weight for EliteXC Fight". MMAFANHOUSE.com. 2008-10-04. http://mma.fanhouse.com/2008/10/04/gina-carano-gets-naked-on-the-scale-to-make-weight-for-elitexc-f/. Retrieved 2009-08-09. 
  18. ^ "164mph.com". 164mph.com. http://164mph.com/Elite_Xtreme_Combat/news:elitexc-heat-weigh-in-results/. Retrieved 2010-11-12. 
  19. ^ ""EliteXC: Heat" weigh-in results". MMAJUNKIE.com. 2008-10-03. http://mmajunkie.com/news/12926/elitexc-heat-weigh-in-results.mma. Retrieved 2009-08-09. 
  20. ^ "Shields Armbars Daley; Arlovski Flattens Nelson at ‘Heat’". SHERDOG.com. 2008-10-05. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/Shields-Armbars-Daley-Arlovski-Flattens-Nelson-at-Heat-14656. Retrieved 2010-02-10. 
  21. ^ "GINA CARANO DEFEATS KOBOLD, REMAINS UNBEATEN". MMAWEEKLY.com. 2008-10-04. http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=7276&zoneid=13. Retrieved 2009-08-09. 
  22. ^ ""EliteXC: Heat" live round-by-round updates and official results". MMAJUNKIE.com. 2008-10-04. http://mmajunkie.com/news/12935/elitexc-heat-live-round-by-round-updates-and-official-results.mma. Retrieved 2009-08-09. 
  23. ^ "Strikeforce completes deal to buy limited ProElite asset". CNN. 2009-02-04. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/mma/02/04/strikeforce.buying.proelite/index.html. Retrieved 2010-05-03. 
  24. ^ "Strikeforce Post-Fight Press Conference Recap". MMARising.com. http://www.mmarising.com/news/2009/08/1503.html. Retrieved 2009-08-26. 
  25. ^ "Strikeforce Champions". Strikeforce.com. http://www.strikeforce.com/fighters/. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  26. ^ "‘Cyborg’ Finishes Carano in First Round". SHERDOG.com. 2009-08-16. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Cyborg-Finishes-Carano-in-First-Round-19126. Retrieved 2010-02-10. 
  27. ^ "“Strikeforce women’s champ Cris Cyborg tests positive for steroids.”". ProMMA.com. http://prommanow.com/index.php/2012/01/06/strikeforce-womens-champ-cris-cyborg-tests-positive-for-steroids/. Retrieved 2012-1-6. 
  28. ^ "“Strikeforce women’s champ Cris Cyborg tests positive for steroids.”". ProMMA.com. http://prommanow.com/index.php/2012/01/06/strikeforce-womens-champ-cris-cyborg-tests-positive-for-steroids/. Retrieved 2012-1-6. 
  29. ^ "“Cris Cyborg Suspended for Positive Steroid Test.”". MMAFighting.com. http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/01/06/cris-cyborg-suspended-for-positive-steroid-test/. Retrieved 2012-1-6. 
  30. ^ "“Cris 'Cyborg' Santos Appeals One-Year Steroid Suspension.”". MMA Nation. http://mma.sbnation.com/2012/1/17/2714209/strikeforce-cris-cyborg-santos-appeals-one-year-steroid-suspension. Retrieved 2012-1-17. 
  31. ^ "Strikeforce Hopes for Gina Carano Return in 2011, But No Discussions Yet". MMAWeekly.com. 2010-11-04. http://mmaweekly.com/strikeforce-hopes-for-gina-carano-return-in-2011-no-discussions-yet. Retrieved 2010-11-05. 
  32. ^ Luke Thomas (February 12, 2011). Strikeforce: Fedor Vs. Silva Results: Gina Carano Returns To Strikeforce. sbnation.com. Accessed 2010-02-15.
  33. ^ "Dana White - Women Will Never Fight in The UFC". TMZ.com. http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=37d12840-e861-4ce2-8fdd-37347f43b949. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
  34. ^ "Dana White: Same Old Tune; Different Verse". Bleacher Report. 2008-08-21. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/49742-dana-white-same-old-tune-different-verse. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
  35. ^ Guerrilla Fight (2011-05-09). "Gina Carano’s Real Opponent in Return to MMA: Dana White". Guerrilla Fight. http://guerrillafight.com/gina-caranos-real-opponent-in-return-to-mma-dana-white/. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
  36. ^ "Carano Fails Medicals for June 18 Strikeforce". Sherdog.com. 2011-06-07. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Carano-Fails-Medicals-for-June-18-Strikeforce-32995. 
  37. ^ "Gina Carano Off Strikeforce Card, Pregnancy Rumors Swirl". MMALinx.com. http://www.mmalinx.com/gina-carano-off-strikeforce-card-pregnancy-rumors-swirl/. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
  38. ^ Marrocco, Steven (2011-06-07). "Although cleared by commission, Gina Carano's return date unknown, manager says". MMAjunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/news/23910/although-cleared-by-commission-gina-carano-return-date-unknown-manager-says.mma. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
  39. ^ Ross, Dalton (2011-07-08). "'Tintin,' 'The Raven,' and 'Amazing Spider-Man' fill Friday movie line-up at Comic-Con". Insidemovies.ew.com. http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/07/08/raven-tintin-spider-man-comic-co/. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
  40. ^ "Ring Girls Review (2006)". Thespinningimage.co.uk. http://www.thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=1843. Retrieved 2010-11-12. 
  41. ^ "Muay Thai Ring Girls (UK) (DVD Details) - MyReviewer.com". Dvd.reviewer.co.uk. 2006-09-30. http://www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/reviews/review.asp?Index=5440&User=10889. Retrieved 2010-11-12. 
  42. ^ "Gina Carano N Michael Jai White Kick ass in Blood and Bone". Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20080129195250/http://www.sohood.com/1/content/view/3358/69/. Retrieved 2008-01-23. 
  43. ^ [2][dead link]
  44. ^ Google trends - Gina Carano (May 13, 2008) Google'.' Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  45. ^ Gina Carano as Natasha in Red Alert 3. (May 30, 2008) IGN. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  46. ^ "Women - Yahoo! 2008 Year in Review". Yahoo!. http://buzz.yahoo.com/yearinreview2008/women/. Retrieved 2009-04-08. 
  47. ^ Fleming,Mike. "Soderbergh, Carano in "Knockout" pairing". Variety. http://weblogs.variety.com/bfdealmemo/2009/09/soderbergh-carano-in-knockout-pairing.html?nid=2854. 
  48. ^ "Gina Carano to Star in Major Film". Fightburger. 2009-09-08. http://fightburger.com/gina-carano-to-star-in-major-film/. Retrieved 2010-11-12. 
  49. ^ "ESPN Body Issue Pictures- Serena Williams / Gina Carano". Beautytips4her.com. 2009-10-07. http://beautytips4her.com/espn-body-issue-pictures-serena-williams-gina-carano/. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
  50. ^ "It takes two to tangle Las Vegas native’s desire to fight inspired top female MMA fighter to take up sport". LASVEGASSUN.com. 2009-07-23. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/23/it-takes-two-fight/. Retrieved 2009-08-05. 

[edit] External links

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