I first heard about Gina Carano (left in the photo) through a mutual friend. I was in Thailand, attending a full-time MMA and Muay Thai Kickboxing training camp when we were discussing females fighters and the tendency for tough girls to end up looking like men. She mentioned Gina to me, and a few of the guys concurred, describing a glamourous, amazon of a woman who happens to kick serious butt in both the ring and the cage. Gina has been an inspiration for me, and she embodies the spirit of Soldierette.

Gina started fighting Muay Thai sometime around 2003. The story goes that she walked into Master Toddy’s gym and told him she wanted to fight.

“You wanna be a fighter? You kidding me” he said to her “Ooh baby, you fat” she laughs at the memory. She was 175lbs when she walked into his gym and she decided to get her butt into gear. She trained hard, and within 4 months she had her first “smoker” fight.

The more she trained, the more he could see she wanted it. Master Toddy knew that Gina could be the next world champion female Muay Thai fighter.

To date, Carano’s Muay Thai fight record is 21-1-1, her MMA record (as of this moment) is 7-0. She is a pioneer of womens MMA, having fought on the first ever sanctioned womens MMA fight in Nevada in 2007. Carano is about to become one of the first 2 women to compete in a First female fight on showtime. When I say ‘about to become’, this fight will occur in about 2 hours. It’s a huge event for womens MMA.

She weighed in a couple of days ago, looking adorable and shy in boy shorts and bra, against her opponent Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.

Gina Carano weighed in at 143 and Santos at 144.5. In the past, Carano has been known to have difficulties making weight for fights, and has had to strip naked and take multiple attempts to get below the line. While she hasn’t stated her out of season weight, the guess is that she cuts around 15lbs, making her normal weight around 160 lbs.

Gina is softly spoken, and appears humble, despite being the face of women’s MMA. She is often spoken of as being strong and a dedicated, a hard worker.

She was a star on the remake of American Gladiators, has a role in the recent “Command and Conquer” video game, and was a mentor to the fighters on “Girl Fight”.  She also starred in a film called Ring Girls. Based on true events, Ring Girls tells the story of five American women from Las Vegas who take on the challenge of fighting the best female Muay Thai fighters in the world.

So the momentous fight will happen soon. I’m hoping Gina will win, but the odds arent looking good. Most have their money on Cyborg, which just makes me want Gina to win even more. Only time will tell!

Here are some must-watch videos related to this post.

Gina Carano kicking a reporters ass:

Gina Carano’s Workout

Her opponent, Cyborg.

Interesting Gina Carano Facts:

1. When Carano and Julie Kedzie fought in February of 2007 on the Showtime Network, it was the first time that two females had appeared in a boxing or MMA fight on the network.
2. Carano served as a mentor to aspiring female kickboxers on the Oxygen reality television show, Fight Girls.
3. Carano fought in the first ever sanctioned female MMA bout in Nevada, defeating Rosie Sexton by TKO.
4. Carano is also known as “Crush” on the television show, American Gladiators.