Gina Carano vs Maxwell
Carano meets Maxwell again and still comes out on top
Walking away with a unanimous decision over Elaina Maxwell in the first Strikeforce women‘s mixed martial arts fight, Gina Carano proved that her earlier defeat of Maxwell in a kickboxing bout on the Mayhem at Mirage Card in Las Vegas on August 14th of 2006 was no fluke. In an exciting fight that brought the fans out of their seats, Carano and Maxwell went head to head and although Carano clearly dominated, Maxwell had a few moments of her own. Held at the HP Pavilion, the “Triple Threat” World Championship fight card was presented by Bodogfight in San Jose, Californa on Dec. 8th, 2006. Although the fight actually took place in December, it was used as footage in “Warrior Nation” a documentary on MMA fighters for MSNBC. The episode did not air until January 23rd.
Prior to the Strikeforce Competition, Carano faced Leiticia Pestova at the Orleans Casino in Las Vegas, in the very first women’s mixed martial arts contest to be held in the state of Nevada. In that fight, Carano also dominated and the referee called the fight just 39 seconds into the match. Carano was awarded a technical knockout. As Carano continues to stack up the wins, she’s also adding to her list of groundbreaking appearances for women in martial arts. She will also appear in the first ever women’s Mixed Martial Arts fight to be televised on the Showtime Channel.
Carano is still fairly new to the sport and many of the more experienced women fighter’s are having a little trouble swallowing her sudden rise to fame. Many believe that it’s actually her drop-dead good looks that are getting her in front of the camera rather than her MMA fighting skills. As long as she continues to win, however, it doesn’t look like that objection is going to hold up. Gina’s current MMA record is 4-0.
Carano, a former University of Nevada psychology student, gave up her studies to become a full-time fighter shortly after she started training at Master Toddy’s Muay Thai Academy in Las Vegas. Gina’s father, Glenn Carano played as a backup quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1977-1983 and for the USFL Pittsburg Maulers in 1984. Carano is obviously not a newcomer in professional sports. He was also played a large role in bringing the UFC to the state of Nevada. According to Gina, however, she didn’t even become interested in fighting until after her father had left the business.
Carano has spent most of her life in Nevada and graduated from high school there. She says she does intend to resume her studies, however, at the present time - her immediate focus will be her fighting career. Gina also appeared on ESPN’s “I’ll Do Anything,” and in an independent film titled “Ring Girls.”