Gina Carano takes a punch from Cris Cyborg - Image: Esther Lin / Showtime Sports

It was a controversial ending for sine who felt that Carano should have been ’saved by the bell’, but she had covered up and wasn’t defending and in mixed martial arts, that means game over. The only disappointment I felt was in not getting to see more fighting … the two went at it without a moment’s break to provide a great first superfight for women’s MMA.

What’s next for Gina Carano is a big question mark … she skipped the post-event interviews and conferences. This was her first loss in MMA, and the first time she’s ever been physically dominated. However, this ain’t boxing and one loss doesn’t mean a fighter is done. If Gina has the will to climb back up to the top, she will still have legions of fans who’ll cheer her on her way.

As for new 145 pound champ Cris Cyborg, Strikeforce president Scott Coker seems to be angling to put her up against veteran Dutch fighter Marloes Coenen. In addition to that fight, he also announced plans for Women’s 135 and 145 pound tournaments to flesh out Strikeforce’s thin women’s divisions and provide more challengers for it’s champions.

Here are the results from the fights:

• Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos defeats Gina Carano via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:59 for Strikeforce Women’s 145 pound belt
• Gegard Mousasi defeats Renato “Babalu” Sobral via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 1:00 for Strikeforce Light Heavyweight belt
• Gilbert Melendez defeats Mitsuhiro Ishida via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 3:56 for Strikeforce Lightweight belt
• Fabricio Werdum defeats Mike Kyle via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 1:24

Post from: EveryJoe

Cris Cyborg finishes Gina Carano in 1 Round

Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg - Image: Showtime Sports

The fight in question is Gina Carano versus Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos. Gina as a former muay thai fighter turned mixed martial artists who some of you might recognize from her time on the new American Gladiators show where she played ‘Crush’. Cris Cyborg is the most feared female in mixed martial arts … a muscled beast of a woman from Brazil who has won five of her seven MMA fights via knockout. The two will be squaring off for the Strikeforce 145-pound title in a fight that many have been anticipating for over a year.

The two originally circled each other in the now-defunct EliteXC league where Gina proved herself as a ratings powerhouse and Cyborg burned through the division with ease. The company folded before a fight could be set up, but Strikeforce stepped in and picked up both women’s contracts. This Saturday at 10pm on Showtime, the two will face off in what has been dubbed ‘Beauty and the Beast’ by many in the media.

Also on the card is a fight between former UFC light heavyweight contender Babalu Sobral and rising star Gegard Mousasi. Babalu was cut from the UFC after refusing to release a chokehold on a tapping opponent and has gone 4-0 since then with wins over Bobby Southworth (for the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt) and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Gegard Mousasi is possibly the hottest prospect in mixed martial arts right now, coming into the event with a 12 fight win streak. He just won the DREAM middleweight tournament in Japan, a kickboxing bout against K-1 star Musashi, and then knocked out a super-heavyweight Mark Hunt for good measure.

Also on the televised portion of the card, Jesse Taylor (best known for getting kicked off the 7th season of The Ultimate Fighter) will face Jay Heiron, and Gilbert Melendez and Mitsuhiro Ishida will have a rematch for the Strikeforce lightweight belt. All in all it’s a great night of fights and it’s free if you get Showtime. Yeah, that’s like saying ‘It’s free if you pay 5 bucks’, but when you’re an MMA fan, getting events for less than 40 bucks is cause for excitement.

As mentioned yesterday, the UFC is trying to crush this card by replaying UFC 100 on Spike the same night, so if you don’t get Showtime or just wanna bounce back and forth between events, that is also an option.

Post from: EveryJoe

Gina Carano vs Cris Cyborg This Saturday

Gina Carano - Image: Zuma Press

Kit Cope is a kickboxer and mediocre MMA fighter who’s best known for an appearance on MTV’s True Life and a run in the WEC that ended with a positive test for steroids. Actually, that’s not really true. Kit is best known for being Gina Carano’s ex … they were actually engaged at one point.

Now don’t ask me why he did this, because I don’t have the answer. But he recently went on MMA Junkie radio and had a discussion about a Gina Carano sex tape, whether Gina Carano’s breasts are real or not, and how badly she’s gonna get her ass kicked (his words, not mine) if she keeps training with Randy Couture instead of where she used to train (in other words, with Kit).

All in all it’s an interesting display that hopefully teaches all the girls reading this to stop dating douches and give me a call instead. You can listen to the entire segment in the video below.

Post from: EveryJoe

Gina Carano’s Ex Talks About Sex Tape

Gina Carano - Image: Zuma Press

Dubbed ‘Beauty and the Beast’ by some of the less politically correct press, the fight will be for the newly created Strikeforce 145 pound championship and is five 5-minute rounds. This is a pretty big deal since until recently most women’s matches have been 3-minute rounds. Why? Because women are clearly inferior. Please note that this statement is drowning in pissed off sarcasm … there’s very few things I hate more than the bias and sexism that sometimes pervades the mixed martial arts world.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock or are just getting into this MMA thing, you’ve probably already heard of Gina Carano. She’s a kickboxing beauty that actually lives up to the majority of her hype. She may not be the best female fighter in the world, but she’s one of the best and by far the most popular – imagine Chuck Liddell but with a great personality. Sorry Chuck, but you’re pretty wooden.

Cris Cyborg is like a female Wanderlei Silva, and she’s got the aggression to match. There is no woman out there right now as physically intimidating as her. She’s got muscles on her muscles and uses them to smash her opponents’ faces in. She is by far the most dangerous opponent Gina has ever faced, which is why this fight is so exciting. Add in the fact that both fighters are known for their exciting style and the media attention that follows Gina everywhere, and this fight could very well cause women’s MMA to explode.

Post from: EveryJoe

Gina Carano vs Cris Cyborg is official

• Jake Shields now considers himself a free agent as it’s been 30 days since the fall of EliteXC and they have breeched contract. Dana White said there was definitely an interest in Shields for the UFC.
• Dana White may try out women in MMA at the WEC with Gina Carano. Dana White said at a UFC 94 Press meeting in Toronto: "Gina Carano is a star, and I think she’s talented," White said. "I think she has all the tools, so what I’m willing to do is bring Gina into the WEC. We could do fights whenever there’s a challenge for Gina. That’s how I’ll test the waters and see how it goes."
• Paulo Filho’s sorry ass is looking for a new job. He’s been dropped from Zuffa altogether after his piss-poor performance and un-champion like conduct at WEC 36.
• Gabriel Gonzoga want a shot at the heavyweight title after his win over UFC newcomer Josh Hendricks. Maybe a contender for Brock Lesnar in the future.
• Urijah Faber wants an immediate rematch with Mike Brown, maybe as soon as January. I would rather see Mike Brown fight one more person before fighting Faber again.

Post from: EveryJoe

Weekend MMA Round Up

MMAJunkie.com reports that the auction for ProElite will happen in Los Angeles later this month and all "tangible and intangible assets". Unfortunately or maybe not, this includes contracts of the fighters currently signed to EliteXC.

The sale will include contracts with a number of EliteXC fighters, including Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, Gina Carano, Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, Frank Shamrock and many others.

I expect Kimbo to take a huuuuge pay cut. Maybe we’ll see him on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter, but that’s highly unlikely. Dana white has expressed interest in Jake Shields and I wish WEC or UFC could start a women’s title even if it’s at a single weight limit. Again not likely to happen.

From what I’m reading, this looks to be a package deal though so I doubt if it will be bought  up by Zuffa. If they are auctioning off contracts then there may be a chance that a few of these fighters may get bought up by the UFC or WEC.

Source: MMAJunkie.com

Image ©Healthandmen.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Quick Update On ProElite Auction