Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is a top ranked fighter in the 145 pound division. She is also an actress and reality show star.
Background[]
Biography[]
Carano was born in Dallas County, TX to former Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Glenn Carano. Her family would move to Las Vegas, NV where she would take the Trinity Christian High School to a state basketball title in 2000. She would also play softball and volleyball.
Carano would got to the University of Nevada Reno for one year and then transfer to the University of Nevada Las Vegas to graduate with a degree in psychology.
Her boyfriend would take her into Master Toddy's kickboxing gym and Toddy thought Carano was there to train. After some convincing, she took up Toddy's offer and began training in Muay Thai. She would go on to have a 12-1-1 record before moving into MMA in 2006.
MMA Career[]MMA Debut and Making History[]MMA Debut & Making History Carano would make an imprressive MMA debut defeating Leitticia Pestova in 38 seconds via knockout at the World Extreme Fighting event in June 2006.
Carano would make history three months later, win the first ever snavtioned women's fight in Nevada by defeating Rosi Sexton by knockout. thumb|350px|left |
Statistics[]
MMA Record[]
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Carano would make her first appearance in Strikeforce in December of 2006, defeating Elaina Maxwell via unanimous decision. This would be the first ever women's mma fight in Strikeforce's history. |
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EliteXC and Fightgirls[]Carano would sign a multi-fight deal with EliteXC in 2007, making history once again by winning the first women's televised bout on Showtime. She defeated Julie Kedzie by unanimous decision. It also garnered "Fight of the Night" honors. thumb|350px|left |
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During the spring of 2007, Carano would be a coach on Oxygen's "Fight Girls" tv show, which was hosted by her mentor Master Toddy. The show brought a group of women to train for Muay Thai fights in Thailand.
Carano would return to the cage that fall to face Tonya Evinger, giving Carano her first ever submission win.
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Prime Time Carano[]Carano first taste of national exposure came when she was cast in the NBC's 2008 version of "American Gladiators" as gladiator "Crush".
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Carno would go on in May 2008 to be part of the first ever women's mma match on primetime national television, when she faced Kaitlin Young on EliteXC's first ever card on CBS. The fight was at a catchweight of 140 pounds, which Carano failed to make. Carano would forfeit 12.5% of her purse, but still won the match by doctor's stoppage at the end of the second round.
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| Carano would win her second primetime match that fall with Kelly Kobold, a match that went the distance. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strikeforce Title Match[]After EliteXC went into bankruptcy, Carano took some time away from the cage until June 2009, when Strikeforce and Carano signed a multi-fight deal. Her first match back would be verse Cyborg Santos for the newly created 145 pound title in August.
Carano would suffer her first defeat, losing by technical knockout at 4:59 of round 1. |
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Hollywood Bound[]Shortly after her defeat to Santos, it was announced that Carano would be taking time off to shoot a movie for director Steven Soderberg. The movie would eventually be called "Haywire" and will be released in spring 2011.
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Professional Fight Records[]
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