Before there was Ronda Rousey and women's mixed martial arts as a whole, there was Gina Carano.
Carano made a name for herself competing under the Strikeforce and EliteXC banners at a time when UFC CEO Dana White was adamant that women would never join his promotion. In time, she became the most famous female fighter on the planet.
In 2009, she entered the cage for a showdown with Cris Cyborg at a Showtime event that featured Gegard Mousasi, Renato “Babal” Sobral, Gilbert Meléndez and Fabricio Werdum. is a famous story. Carano suffered a TKO in the final seconds of the opening round and lost the match.
“Conviction” did not officially announce her retirement from MMA after the loss, but she never fought again. But it wasn't for a lack of effort on her part.
Five years later, with Ronda Rousey quickly becoming one of the biggest sports stars in the world, Carano liked the idea of a comeback fight against the then-UFC bantamweight champion. During a recent appearance on the PBD Podcast, Carano revealed that while her conversations with Dana White about the fight happening were positive, it was ultimately his fault that the fight didn't happen.
“It took six months,” Carano explained. “First of all, it was difficult for me to lose weight at the time, because all the women were ranked 135th.” [pound] I could have gone down to 145 in my weight class, but I've only gone down to 136 and 139 twice in my career, and that was like cutting off a leg for me. It was very difficult for me, but all the women were there because there weren't many women at that time.
“I sat with my husband and [said] I wish you guys would have contacted me five years ago, I've been waiting for this and I need some time, but I need you to shut up, Donna. There was no gym so be really quiet.have to go [re-immerse] I'm at the gym. When I go to the gym, people point their cameras at me. Then you need to find and build your team. And I didn't live in Las Vegas, where the team was. So I was living in Los Angeles, which would have been tough and we had to rebuild the team and do it right.
“Dana, and I love him now. He's still great, but Dana is Dana. He started talking about it right away, so it's my life to try to be a part of that.” It became very difficult.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
On top of that, Carano was being actively courted by Hollywood after getting the lead role in the movie. haywirean action thriller directed by Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh that received positive reviews from critics and featured a highly talented cast of actors.
“Trying to do both at the same time is very difficult,” Carano said of acting and fighting. “In my head, I'm very passionate about storytelling, and the last few years I've been passionate about trying to get back into it.”
After appearing in dead pool The race for Carano's acting career began as she starred opposite Ryan Reynolds. She also got a recurring role on her incredibly popular Disney+ series. the mandalorian She was lined up to star in her own spin-off show, but a reckless social media post brought her budding film and television career to an abrupt halt.
Gina Carano confident of winning legendary fight with Ronda Rousey
Of course, the fight against Ronda Rousey didn't happen, but to this day, Gina Carano believes she would have come out on top.
“Yes, absolutely [believe I would have won]'' Carano said. “Because I have a big punch. I know how she punches. She punches like a truck driver. [She would have the edge] It's obvious I'm on the ground, but I'm scrambling. That's not rude and I'm sure she would say the same thing if she won, but that's just what I know.She trembled twice after you got hit like that. [by] Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm, I'm one of the hardest punchers in women's mixed martial arts. ”
Carano was confident she finished Rousey inside the Octagon, but she has nothing but respect for the UFC Hall of Famer. After all, Rousey frequently promoted Carano as the reason she pursued her mixed martial arts career. This is something the former World MMA Awards Female Fighter of the Year never forgot.
“Rhonda was very respectful.” [person], she was a very little trash talker throughout her career, but I was really the only person she really didn't talk trash to,” Carano said. “She's always really looked up to me. It's very special for me to have someone who was able to compete without being in the UFC and really broke that barrier. I think she is a very special person.
“I think she's going through a really bad time.” [reputation] And people want to paint her as the bad guy just because she likes playing a heel. She doesn't mind playing a heel. It's just the personality of certain people, but when I look deeper at her as a person, which is what I observe and study about people, I think she's a very special and special person. ”
