Jump to content

Gina Carano: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Line 140: Line 140:
| {{yes2}}Win
| {{yes2}}Win
|align=center| 7–0
|align=center| 7–0
| [[Kelly Kobold]]
| Kelly Kobold
| Decision (unanimous)
| Decision (unanimous)
| [[EliteXC: Heat]]
| [[EliteXC: Heat]]

Revision as of 18:55, 11 July 2013

Gina Carano
Carano before the Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg event, August 14, 2009
BornGina Joy Carano
(1982-04-16) April 16, 1982 (age 42)
Dallas County, Texas, United States
Other namesConviction, Crush
NationalityAmerican
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight143 lb (65 kg; 10 st 3 lb)
DivisionWomen's Middleweight (145 lb)
StyleMuay Thai
Fighting out ofAlbuquerque, New Mexico
TeamJackson's Mixed Martial Arts
TrainerGreg Jackson
Years active2006–09 (MMA)
Kickboxing record
Total14
Wins12
Losses1
Draws1
Mixed martial arts record
Total8
Wins7
By knockout3
By submission1
By decision3
Losses1
By knockout1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is an American actress, television personality, fitness model, and a former mixed martial artist. Carano appeared as Crush, a Gladiator on American Gladiators. She has been referred to as the "Face of Women's MMA."[1] Carano was formerly the third best 145 lb (66 kg) female fighter in the world, according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings.[2][3] Carano starred in the 2011 action film, Haywire, and is in the 2013 film Fast & Furious 6.

Early life

Gina Carano was born in Dallas County, Texas, the middle daughter of Dana Joy (née Cason) and Glenn Thomas Carano. She has two sisters.[4][5] Carano has said that she has a "small percentage" of Italian ancestry.[6] Her father played for the Dallas Cowboys as a backup quarterback from 1977–1983 and for the USFL Pittsburgh Maulers as a starter in 1984, their only year of operations.

She graduated from Trinity Christian High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she led the girls basketball team to a state title. She also played volleyball and softball.[7] She attended the University of Nevada, Reno for a year and then University of Nevada, Las Vegas for three, where she minored in psychology.[8]

Mixed martial arts career

Carano started her career in the sport of Muay Thai. Gina's ex-boyfriend Kevin Ross, a pro Muay Thai fighter, got her involved in Muay Thai.[9] After achieving a Muay Thai record of 12–1–1,[10] Carano received an offer from Jamie Levine to participate in the first-ever sanctioned female MMA bout in Nevada with World Extreme Fighting to fight Leiticia Pestova. She was invited to the World Pro Fighting show in Las Vegas to fight Rosi Sexton.[11] Carano won the fight by knocking out Sexton late in the second round.

Carano faced Elaina Maxwell at Strikeforce: Triple Threat on December 8, 2006. She won the fight via unanimous decision.[12] Carano proved critics wrong when she defeated Maxwell for the second time; the first victory coming in a Muay Thai bout. The fight was the first female fight in Strikeforce.

She fought on the February 10, 2007, Showtime EliteXC card, defeating Julie Kedzie via unanimous decision in what was called the "Fight of the Night."[13] The fight was the first televised female fight on Showtime.

Her scheduled bout against Jan Finney at the EliteXC/K-1 Dynamite!! USA event on June 2, 2007 was canceled due to illness. The Fight Network and other news outlets reported that she was rushed to the hospital via ambulance due to dehydration while attending a World Extreme Cagefighting event as a spectator.[14]

Carano fought on the September 15, 2007, Showtime EliteXC card, where she defeated Tonya Evinger via rear naked choke for her first career win by submission.[15] Carano impressed critics by holding her own on the ground before submitting Evinger late in the first round.

Carano defeated former HOOKnSHOOT Champion Kaitlin Young at EliteXC: Primetime on May 31, 2008.[16] A day before the fight, Carano failed to make weight for her fight after weighing in at 144.5 lb (65.5 kg). Although most MMA organizations set weight classes at 135 (bantamweight) and 145 (featherweight) pounds (61.2 and 65.8 kg, respectively), EliteXC opted to create a women's weight class at 140 pounds.[17] Carano agreed to forfeit 12.5% of her "show" purse to Young, and the fight remained on the card.[18]

Leading up to her fight against Kelly Kobold, there was much controversy over whether or not Gina would make weight for the fight, as she had fought only once in the past year and had failed to make weight. Gina assured critics that she would be able to make weight since she had hired a nutritionist to help with her dieting. At the weigh-in for the Kobold fight on October 3, 2008, Gina Carano weighed in at 142.75 pounds on her first attempt.[19] After removing her sports bra, a towel-covered Carano weighed in a second time at 142.5 pounds.[20] On her third attempt, without any clothes on, Carano weighed 141 pounds[21] and successfully made weight.

Early on, Kobold was intent on pressing Carano in the clinch, while working for the takedown throughout the fight. Kobold managed a takedown in the second round, but the round ended before she could take meaningful advantage of it. Carano worked her opportunities by hitting Kobold at every turn whenever the fighters separated, while opening a huge gash on the inside of her opponent's eyebrow in the first round.[22] At the end of the third round, Carano looked to finish the fight as she unloaded a head kick that landed flush on Kobold's chin, but Kobold remained on her feet and the bout came to a close.[23]

Carano won by unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, 30–27)[24] and remained undefeated. [citation needed]

Strikeforce Women's Middleweight Championship bout

After Strikeforce purchased the assets of ProElite, Carano, along with other fighters within the defunct promotion, became contractually linked with Strikeforce after many months of a stalemate regarding their free agent status.[25]

It was announced at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields that Carano's fight against Cristiane Santos would take place on August 15, 2009, at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg. Strikeforce created their first Women's Championship for the bout.

Though the 145-pound division is most commonly referred to as featherweight, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated that the title would be known as the Strikeforce Women's Lightweight Championship.[26] The title was later renamed the Strikeforce Women's Middleweight Championship.[27]

Carano lost the fight against Santos by TKO at 4:59 in the first round.[28]

Aftermath

Following her loss to Santos, Carano was out of action for the remainder of 2009 and the entirety of 2010. In November 2010, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated he was hopeful that she would return in 2011.[29] Carano's return was formally announced in February 2011.[30]

Strikeforce announced at its April 9, 2011, event in San Diego that Carano would make her return on June 18 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, during the Overeem vs. Werdum Strikeforce event. Her opponent would have been Sarah D'Alelio. This bout would have been the first women's bout ever held by Zuffa,[citation needed] who have been detractors of women's MMA in the past.[citation needed] Critics assert that the reason for the turnaround is Carano's marketability.[31][32] Initially Strikeforce announced Carano failed her pre-fight medical examination due to an unknown issue and the fight was pulled from the card.[33] As the story continues to develop it's become public that Carano was medically cleared by the Athletic Commission but was removed from the card for unknown reasons. Her return date is unknown; Carano has not fought since August 2009 and has not been scheduled for any upcoming events.[34]

Television and film career

Carano starred in the cult film Ring Girls.[35] Based on true events, Ring Girls is a fast-paced story about five American women from Las Vegas who take on the ultimate challenge of fighting the best female Muay Thai fighters in the world.[36]

Along with Lisa King, Carano served as a mentor to aspiring female fighters in the Oxygen reality series Fight Girls. She appeared as "Crush" on the NBC show American Gladiators, in which she starred in the workout video of the show along with Monica Carlson (Jet), Jennifer Widerstrom (Phoenix), Michael O'Hearn (Titan), Tanoai Reed (Toa) and Don "Hollywood" Yates (Wolf). The DVD was released on December 16, 2008. She is featured in the Michael Jai White film Blood and Bone.[37]

She has appeared in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 as Natasha,[38] a purchasable hero unit, portraying the Soviet sniper/commando in various cutscenes.

In September 2009, Carano landed the leading role in the spy thriller movie Haywire, directed by Steven Soderbergh.[39][40][41] Christy Lemire of The Associated Press stated: "[Carano's] dialogue delivery may seem a bit stiff — and she has acknowledged that Soderbergh made some tweaks to her voice in post-production — but she has tremendous presence: an intriguing mix of muscular power and eye-catching femininity".[42]

In February 2012, Carano was cast in In the Blood, an action thriller being directed by John Stockwell (Into the Blue, Blue Crush). The film has been described as being in the vein of Taken, In the Blood is set in motion when a husband disappears while vacationing in the Caribbean with his wife, played by Carano. The grieving wife passionately and recklessly pursues the men whom she believes kidnapped and killed him. Stockwell stated, "This role will showcase not only Gina’s fighting skills, but also her acting abilities as her character struggles to [rein] in her violent past".[43]

Carano co-starred in Fast & Furious 6 (2013), as a member of Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Special Agent Luke Hobbs' (Dwayne Johnson) team.[44]

In September 2012, Carano signed on as the lead in an all-female ensemble action film described as the female version of The Expendables. Producer Adi Shankar said, "I don't know how I'm supposed to make a movie that is supposed to be the female version of The Expendables without Gina Carano in it. It would be like making Twix without caramel or Jamba Juice without jamba".[45]

Accolades

She was profiled in a feature story for the ESPN series E:60. She was voted "Hottest Woman In America" by Big Biz Magazine in the Spring 2008 issue.[46] On May 13, 2008, "Gina Carano" was the fastest-rising search on Google and third most searched person on Yahoo!.[4][47]

She was ranked as #5 on the "Top Ten Influential Women of 2008" list on Yahoo![48]

In May 2009, it was announced that Carano was ranked #16 in Maxim's Hot 100 list.

In April 2012, Carano became the first recipient of the Chuck Norris (Best Female Action Star) Award, given by ActionFest to the female action star of the year.[49]

She is one of the cover athletes along with Serena Williams[50] for the October 19, 2009 edition of ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue.

She was a nominee for the 2013 Critics Choice Awards for best actress in an action movie for Haywire.[51]

Personal life

Carano began dating actor Henry Cavill in September 2012.[52] The pair broke up in early May 2013.[53]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
8 matches 7 wins 1 loss
By knockout 3 1
By submission 1 0
By decision 3 0
Draws 0
No contests 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 7-1 Cristiane Santos TKO (punches) Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg August 15, 2009 1 4:59 San Jose, California, United States For the Women's Featherweight Championship
Win 7–0 Kelly Kobold Decision (unanimous) EliteXC: Heat October 4, 2008 3 3:00 Sunrise, Florida, United States
Win 6–0 Kaitlin Young TKO (doctor stoppage) EliteXC: Primetime May 31, 2008 2 3:00 Newark, New Jersey, United States 144 lb Catchweight
Win 5–0 Tonya Evinger Submission (rear naked choke) EliteXC: Uprising September 15, 2007 1 2:53 Oahu, Hawaii, United States 141 lb
Win 4–0 Julie Kedzie Decision (unanimous) EliteXC: Destiny February 10, 2007 3 3:00 Southaven, Mississippi, United States EliteXC Debut, 141 lb
Win 3–0 Elaina Maxwell Decision (unanimous) Strikeforce: Triple Threat December 8, 2006 3 2:00 San Jose, California, United States Strikeforce Debut, 150 lb bout
Win 2–0 Rosi Sexton KO (punch) World Pro Fighting Championships 1 September 15, 2006 2 4:55 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 138 lb Catchweight
Win 1–0 Leiticia Pestova KO (punches and elbows) World Extreme Fighting June 10, 2006 1 0:38 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fought at 135 lbs

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Blood and Bone Verett
2012 Haywire Mallory Kane
2013 Fast & Furious 6 Riley Hicks
2013 In the Blood Ava

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gina Carano refutes position as "face of women's MMA"". MMAJUNKIE.com. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  2. ^ "Unified Women's Mixed Martial Arts Rankings". MMARising.com. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  3. ^ "Unified Women's Rankings". FighterGirls.com. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Iole, Kevin (28 May 2008). "Carano wants to be fighter first, star later". Yahoo Sports. Alt: [1]. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  5. ^ "interview Gina Carano". mat-magazine.com. Retrieved September 16, 2008. [dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Full Transcript Of Exclusive Gina Carano Interview". MMA News. January 31, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  7. ^ Sheehan, Jack (1 September 2007) "Don't let her good looks fool you: Stunning Gina Carano has a near-perfect record in mixed martial arts", Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  8. ^ "The Official Site of Gina Carano". Yard barker. 2009-07-37. Retrieved 2013-03-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "It takes two to tangle Las Vegas native's desire to fight inspired top female MMA fighter to take up sport". Las Vegas Sun. July 23, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  10. ^ "Full Transcript Of Exclusive Gina Carano Interview".
  11. ^ "World Pro Fighting – Las Vegas, September 15, 2006". WPFight.com. Retrieved September 16, 2007.
  12. ^ "Le Wins on Cut, Southworth Takes Strikeforce Belt". SHERDOG.com. December 8, 2006. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  13. ^ "EXC live coverage from Southaven, MS". WrestlingObserver.com. Retrieved September 16, 2007.
  14. ^ Sick Carano Off EliteXC Card (2008-05-17) Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  15. ^ "Elite XC notes: Carano carries torch for sport". Yahoo! Sports. June 16, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  16. ^ Ariel Helwani (2008-05-28) Carano: 'I just didn't really want to stay out of the ring' Fox Sports'.' Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  17. ^ "GinaCarano and Weight Cutting". BLOODYELBOW.com. September 26, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2009. [dead link‍]
  18. ^ Carano Misses Weight (2008-05-30) Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  19. ^ "Gina Carano Gets Naked on the Scale to Make Weight for EliteXC Fight". MMAFANHOUSE.com. October 4, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  20. ^ "164mph.com". 164mph.com. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  21. ^ ""EliteXC: Heat" weigh-in results". MMAJUNKIE.com. October 3, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  22. ^ "Shields Armbars Daley; Arlovski Flattens Nelson at 'Heat'". SHERDOG.com. October 5, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  23. ^ "GINA CARANO DEFEATS KOBOLD, REMAINS UNBEATEN". MMAWEEKLY.com. October 4, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  24. ^ ""EliteXC: Heat" live round-by-round updates and official results". MMAJUNKIE.com. October 4, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  25. ^ "Strikeforce completes deal to buy limited ProElite asset". CNN. February 4, 2009. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  26. ^ "Strikeforce Post-Fight Press Conference Recap". MMARising.com. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
  27. ^ "Strikeforce Champions". Strikeforce.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  28. ^ "'Cyborg' Finishes Carano in First Round". SHERDOG.com. August 16, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  29. ^ "Strikeforce Hopes for Gina Carano Return in 2011, But No Discussions Yet". MMAWeekly.com. November 4, 2010. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  30. ^ Luke Thomas (2011-02-12). Strikeforce: Fedor Vs. Silva Results: Gina Carano Returns To Strikeforce. sbnation.com. Accessed 2010-02-15.
  31. ^ "Dana White: Same Old Tune; Different Verse". Bleacher Report. August 21, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  32. ^ Guerrilla Fight (May 9, 2011). "Gina Carano's Real Opponent in Return to MMA: Dana White". Guerrilla Fight. Retrieved November 11, 2011.[dead link‍]
  33. ^ "Carano Fails Medicals for June 18 Strikeforce". Sherdog.com. June 7, 2011.
  34. ^ Marrocco, Steven (June 7, 2011). "Although cleared by commission, Gina Carano's return date unknown, manager says". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  35. ^ "Ring Girls Review (2006)". Thespinningimage.co.uk. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  36. ^ "Muay Thai Ring Girls (UK) (DVD Details) - MyReviewer.com". Dvd.reviewer.co.uk. September 30, 2006. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  37. ^ "Gina Carano N Michael Jai White Kick ass in Blood and Bone". Archived from the original on January 29, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
  38. ^ Gina Carano as Natasha in Red Alert 3. (May 30, 2008) IGN. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  39. ^ Fleming,Mike. "Soderbergh, Carano in "Knockout" pairing". Variety.
  40. ^ "Gina Carano to Star in Major Film". Fightburger. September 8, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  41. ^ Aftab, Kaleem (January 6, 2012). "Steven Soderbergh – 'It's always good to kill movie stars'". The Independent.
  42. ^ Lemire, Christy (January 12, 2012). "Review: Carano kicks butt in 'Haywire' film debut". The Boston Globe. Boston.com. Associated Press. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  43. ^ Kit, Borys (February 13, 2012). "Berlin 2012: 'Haywire' Actress Gina Carano to Star in Another Action Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  44. ^ Kit, Borys (April 23, 2012). "'Haywire' Star Gina Carano in Talks to Join 'Fast & Furious 6' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  45. ^ Sneider, Jeff (September 24, 2012). "Carano attaches to femme riff on 'Expendables'". Variety. Retrieved September 25, 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  46. ^ Gina Carano, Hottest Female Fighter[dead link‍] at MMA Chump
  47. ^ Google trends – Gina Carano (2008-05-12) Google. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  48. ^ "Women – Yahoo! 2008 Year in Review". Yahoo!. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
  49. ^ "Press | ActionFest — The Film Festival With a Body Count". Actionfest.com. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  50. ^ "ESPN Body Issue Pictures- Serena Williams / Gina Carano". Beautytips4her.com. October 7, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  51. ^ "Critics' Choice Awards | Critics' Choice Movie Awards". Criticschoice.com. January 10, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  52. ^ "He's MY (Super)man: Gina Carano gazes adoringly at beau Henry Cavill as pair touch down in London ahead of BAFTA awards. Daily Mail. Retrieved March 12, 2013
  53. ^ "'Man of Steel' Henry Cavill dating 'Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco?". Digital Spy. 2013-7-02. Retrieved 2013-7-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gina Carano.


Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Gina_Carano&oldid=563853337"