Is Gina Carano Coming Back To MMA?

[Guest CMHunk]

Talk of a Gina Carano comeback just became a little more serious.

 

The former face of women’s mixed martial arts recently appeared on ”The Arsenio Hall Show,” indicating that she would meet next week with UFC President Dana White.

 

“I 100 percent do [miss fighting]. There’s not a workout I go through that I’m not fighting someone in my mind. It’s never gone away,” said Carano. “I’m actually sitting down with [White] next week.”

 

Carano made her mixed martial arts debut in 2006 and went on to compete for both EliteXC and Strikeforce, posting seven consecutive victories before suffering a first-round knockout at the hands of Cristiane Justino in August 2009.

 

Her defeat in that featherweight title confrontation was the last time Carano stepped inside the cage. During her four-plus years away from the sport, the 31-year-old started a film and television career, appearing in the likes of “Haywire” and “Fast and Furious 6.”

 

Ultimate Fighting Championship parent company Zuffa still holds the rights to Carano’s Strikeforce contract, meaning that if Carano did return to MMA, it would be inside the UFC Octagon.

 

“I love [MMA]. It’s something I can do that makes everything else disappear. I dream about it. I just didn’t know if I was ever going to get placed with an opportunity to make a comeback,” said Carano. “So I’m either going to do it now, or I’m going to retire and say I’m never going to do it. Now is the moment, I feel.”

yuck

 

and that's such a different tune to pretty much all of her interviews once she started making haywire where she continuously suggested that she didn't really like fighting all that much and wasn't sure she'd ever go back.

 

if they want her to fight rousey they have to chuck her straight in there, because she'll likely lose an eliminator against someone decent. rousey will kill her. loads of people will watch so makes business sense. it just won't be competitive. even if gina had the skills to beat rousey, which she doesn't, her inept ability to handle intimidation will mean she'll have lost the fight at the weigh in when rousey gets in her face anyway.

 

I like looking at Gina Carano, especially when she's doing cool stuff with her legs. I just don't particularly like looking at her when she's fighting people that are going to murder her.

[Guest John Hancock]

The Battle of the Female Action Movie Supporting Roles. Winner gets Fast & Furious 8.

[Guest The Beltster]

I'm not even slightly interested in seeing Rousey beat up half-decade retired Gina Carano...its Cyborg or bust.

[Guest CMHunk]

I'm not even slightly interested in seeing Rousey beat up half-decade retired Gina Carano...its Cyborg or bust.

copy that

[Guest John Hancock]

The only reason I'd be slightly interested is a nerdy curiosity in how much mainstream attention it would get, like, just to see. That's it though, the fight itself can f*ck off.

[Guest The Beltster]

Will alot of people even remember who Carano is? Apart from that film Haywire that she did soon after her last fight, I've not seen or heard about her since, she's like the forgotten woman and Rousey has since come along and become x10 the star Carano ever was. I dunno, I could be way off but ever since Carano's name was mentioned I haven't felt any sort of buzz for this fight at all.

[Guest John Hancock]

That's what interests me, because, for all the hype, I don't think Carano is actually that big a deal outside of MMA. She's like MMA's John Cena, as in MMA fans think she's, like, this breakthrough, mainstream star, but I don't think the actual mainstream really has any idea who she is.

[DC 536]

She had a quite a big role in Fast & Furious 6, which was seen by a lot of people, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility... but it would probably be more along the lines of "ahh, it's her".

[Guest The Beltster]

Do people who saw her in that, though, know she was an MMA champion, or will the majority of people wonder why a pretty un-famous supporting actress is going to fight in the UFC and in that case will most casuals see it as anything more than a weird publicity stunt?

[Guest Frank Botch]

Gina was a massive draw with (to) casuals lads, and with a UFC machine behind her I think it would be a huge fight. She clicked with the mainstream before any movie roles. Did huge ratings with Cyborg (who since that fight has fought in front of 18 fans at a time), had one of the bigger non UFC sellouts in history etc. As I said with Zuffa behind her I don't see the layoff being a problem. Like Dana is not going to let anyone think it's just an actress coming in, they have all her previous fights, can build it as being a return for the chick who started the whole thing, Ronda looking to take over her role or whatever, I really think they'd build it into something special. They just need to show some crowd shots of the Cyborg fight to get her over as a superstar (just don't show any of the actual fight). This is Dave's take:

 

But others argue differently, noting it’s the unbeatable aura of Cyborg that is part of the draw, and she lost. What makes this significant is that Rousey vs. Cyborg could very well be the potentially biggest fight on the current UFC horizon. As crazy as it sounds that a woman’s fight could outdraw the biggest men’s fight, this features one of the company’s biggest active draws, against what is perceived as her toughest test, with huge grudge match implications. It’s the star of a previous period who never lost against the current big star. And the other thing making it the biggest, is the male side of UFC doesn’t have any matches, except perhaps Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson or maybe Daniel Cormier, or Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort, none of which are guaranteed to happen, that look to even have the shot at 500,000 buys. You could argue Rousey vs. Gina Carano could be bigger, and they are different dynamics. My belief is Rousey vs. Carano will raise the profile of Rousey, who will likely win, making her stronger and strengthen a Cyborg fight. As noted, the best scenario for business and popularity is Rousey vs. Carano and Cyborg facing a popular fighter such as Miesha Tate or Liz Carmouche on the same show. If the outcomes are as expected, you should then have a really major fight. And if not, well, that’s the fight game. If Cyborg were to look good in her UFC debut, nothing that happened this weekend will have any effect at all on the business of that fight. If she doesn’t, that’s a different story.

[Guest Jack]

I find it hard to imagine Dana putting on Rousey/Cyborg. Rousey is a one dimensional, limited fighter who'd get beaten soundly and if that happened, it'd kill off any interest in the womens division because men won't pay to watch ugly women. That probably sounds harsh but it's true. Cyborg beating Rousey would mean the end of women in the UFC until some other hot woman comes along who fans can leer over. If Dana thought Rousey would win the fight, it would happen but everyone knows she wouldn't and if she got beat, the UFC would lose a cash cow which isn't something they can afford to happen right now. As the saying goes "if it makes money, it makes sense" and whilst Rousey/Cyborg would draw a fair amount as a stand alone fight, it'd result in far less money in the long term.

 

Cyborg should have been banned for life, Rousey is thoroughly unlikeable and the division as a whole is void of any talent...adding all those factors up, Cyborg destroying Rousey in a round is probably the best thing that could happen. Sadly, I doubt it will.

[Guest CMHunk]

Rousey beats cyborg, comfortably too.

[Guest The Beltster]

Cyborg should have been banned for life? :lol For what?

 

And I'd have Cyborg beating Rousey too. Rousey only knows how to close distance on strikers by walking into and eating punches. She wouldn't walk through Cyborgs punches thats for sure.

[Guest CMHunk]

Cyborg isn't a particularly good technical striker, she's just a hard striker who throws a lot. MMA fans have a real hard time understanding the difference between that and often label people as good/great strikers just because they can hit hard. Bear in mind as well, Cyborg hasn't ever really displayed genuine knockout power. Her striking isn't clean enough to connect with a punch or a kick and knock people out on a regular basis, she isn't likely to connect with one punch or kick that puts Rousey out. Opponents in the past have either just sucked up the punishment or crumbled when she starts throwing.

 

That's enough to overwhelm most women in the underdeveloped division. She got her ass handed to her in the first round of a kickboxing match about a week ago. Of course, she doesn't have to be a great technical striker to win striking exchanges against Rousey, but Ronda isn't just going to stand there and trade with her.

 

You then have to factor in that Cyborg is coming down to Ronda's weight. There's no real evidence yet that she can get there, nor that she will be in any sort of competitive state when she does. What was she banned for in the first place? Stanozolol, something taken as part of a cutting cycle to help her make weight. Drop another 10lbs, which is going to have to include some sort of decrease in muscle mass or she just won't make the weight, and are you absolutely convinced that she'll be the same fighter?

 

Rousey is an olympic level athlete who will have better training than Cyborg, and based on the fact that even Gina Carano managed to get a mount on Cyborg (and then didn't have a clue what to do with it), I genuinely can't see Cyborg beating her at 135.

 

It's the most interesting fight, but I'm really, REALLY confident Rousey takes it.

 

I'm also absolutely convinced that Rousey / Carano draws a shedload more than Rousey / Cyborg. Gina's presence had a positive effect on everything she's been involved with MMA wise in the past, Cyborg's didn't apart from the fight with Gina. You might all be right about just how well known Carano is right now, but when you consider this will have Dana and the UFC behind it promoting it, and Gina and Rousey out there doing bucketloads of mainstream media to sell the fight, they would turn it into a draw.

 

If they were to just fight tomorrow without any promotion you could all be right and it might not draw. But what fight really would in that situation? The media would eat these two up, just like they have done in the past, and the UFC would do a great job of selling the fight turning it into something that would make them plenty of money.

 

I still don't personally want to see it though.

Edited April 5, 2014 by CMHunk

[Guest The Beltster]

She fought that kickboxing fight against one of the best in the world and still took it to decision even though she obviously lost, its not like she was beat by a jobber. And again, Ronda eats punches to close distance, Cyborg punches hard, not a great combo for Rousey. If she gets Cyborg down then she can finish her without question, its whether she can get her down before she takes too many shots that interests me. And there is no way, no way at all on earth that Carano would draw more money against Rousey than Cyborg, not a chance.

[Guest CMHunk]

Fair enough on the kickboxing fight, but I still think it shows that Cyborg isn't the sort of elite level striker she's made out to be. She's just a hard hitting, volume throwing person in a division devoid of fighters that know what to do with that sort of fighter. Technically she's not a great striker.

 

Ronda has eaten punches to close distance against opponents that weren't Cyborg, that doesn't mean that's what she'd do against her. The opponents Rousey has faced in the past, why not just tell her to go out there and walk through what they've got to clinch up and toss them to the ground? Meisha Tate wasn't about to catch her and knock her out. I'm convinced that she would not do that in the cage with Cyborg, she's not an idiot.

 

Rousey/Carano definitely draws more and it's not even close. Outside of hardcore MMA fans nobody has a clue who Cyborg is and nothing she did in Strikeforce apart from Carano got any attention or drew anything at all. The people who will get excited by Cyborg/Rousey are the people that would already be watching anyway.

 

We'd all rather see that fight, but we watch UFC shows anyway.

 

** EDIT *

 

I often cringe when Meltzer starts talking about MMA because he just doesn't get what goes on in the cage and sounds like a chump, but in terms of ppv numbers and figures he knows his stuff....

 

Rousey has two potential opponents, both of which would draw huge for different reasons. The first is Gina Carano. Carano hasn't fought in four-and-a-half years. There would be hell to pay in criticism for UFC if they were to make that fight, if Carano would even have interest in it. But it would draw far more, perhaps nearly double, of what anyone else available would do, and would easily be the biggest woman's combat sports fight of modern times. There's also a chance it would be a first round armbar and all the criticism coming in would be the same going out. But this is the kind of thinking out of the box that put UFC on the PPV map in 2006.

Edited April 5, 2014 by CMHunk

[Guest The Beltster]

Fair enough on the kickboxing fight, but I still think it shows that Cyborg isn't the sort of elite level striker she's made out to be. She's just a hard hitting, volume throwing person in a division devoid of fighters that know what to do with that sort of fighter. Technically she's not a great striker.

I'm not sure anybody has ever pegged her as an elite level technical striker have they? I dont think its any secret she is a hard hitting volume puncher as you said, I agree with you.

 

has eaten punches to close distance against opponents that weren't Cyborg, that doesn't mean that's what she'd do against her. The opponents Rousey has faced in the past, why not just tell her to go out there and walk through what they've got to clinch up and toss them to the ground? Meisha Tate wasn't about to catch her and knock her out. I'm convinced that she would not do that in the cage with Cyborg, she's not an idiot.

Hmmm, this seems like a weird thing to say, that she eats punches against some people but she wouldn't against Cyborg....surely she wouldn't want to eat punches from anybody regardless and if she had the skills to close distance without getting hit, she'd do that in every fight? That seems like common sense. I dont think she takes punches from certain people because she is confident that won't KO her, I think she takes punches to close distance because thats what she does.

 

Rousey/Carano definitely draws more and it's not even close. Outside of hardcore MMA fans nobody has a clue who Cyborg is and nothing she did in Strikeforce apart from Carano got any attention or drew anything at all. The people who will get excited by Cyborg/Rousey are the people that would already be watching anyway.

I'll bet you a friendly and affordable £5 British pounds (payable by PayPal, cheque, postal order, cash or via equal value sexual favours) that if both fights happen in the next 12-18 months, Cyborg vs Rousey draws more than Carano vs Rousey.

[Guest CMHunk]

I'll take that bet. I'm pretty sure we won't see both fights so I think it's a bit of a non starter, but sure I'll take that. there are plenty of factors, like which one happens first, and who/if Cyborg fights in the UFC to get noticed before she fights Rousey etc, but I'm still confident Carano draws more regardless.

 

I understand what you're saying about the fight itself, logic dictates that if you don't have to eat punches at all why would you ever do it? But if you listen to fighters talk, listen to trainers talk, that is what happens. If you have no respect for a fighters striking, and frankly barely anyone in the women's divisions has any sort of knockout power to respect, then the quickest way to get clinched up with them is to just let them strike and walk through it. Fighters will have guys that they try to avoid getting in front of, and fighters that they are quite happy to be in front of if it gives them a better position because they just don't fear what's going to come at them.

 

She has to know that she can't do that against Cyborg, and I think her and the people training her will have that drilled into her. I think her game's a lot more adaptable than Cyborg's is. I think she's learning and improving, and as stated before I'm convinced Cyborg won't be the same fighter at 135 that she was at 145.

 

I could be wrong and Rousey could fight Cyborg as if she's "just another woman", and if she does she'll lose, but I'd like to think she's smarter than that. If she stands in front of cyborg and thinks she can get away with taking a few on the way in just so she can get a hold of her then she'll lose and I'll be happy to admit I was wrong for thinking Rousey would have a better game plan than that.

[Guest John Hancock]

Gina will be meeting with Dana White later today/tomorrow/Wednesday.

[Guest CMHunk]

from MMA H.E.A.T. just now....

 

Perhaps the best Freudian slip ever: when just asked about a potential Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano fight, Dana replied, "yeah, I'd definitely do Ronda and Gina." - the entire room cracked up!