Gina Carano

Serious Crush: E:60 Profiles Gina Carano

Above is the segment that aired on last night’s episode of ESPN’s E:60 profiling EliteXC women’s star Gina Carano. The six-minute piece features comments from Carano’s mother and father, Shayna Bazler, and Tara LaRosa among others and also chronicles her entrance into the sport after competing in Muay-Thai competitions.

After the jump is the discussion that takes place after the profile piece. It’s ten-minutes long and basically rehashes the same points over and over. Jeremy Schaap talks until the last three minutes or so. The talk starts out well. Some valid questions are brought up and some legit issues discussed but eventually it just degenerates into the lame comparison of MMA to professional wrestling. Watch if you wish.

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EliteXC Planning to Expand Women’s Division

EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw announced his organization’s plans to expand their promotion of women’s mixed martial arts with the potential of the addition of a women’s championship and a strictly female fight card at some point next year.

“We’re talking about doing two things,” Shaw stated earlier today during a conference call with the media. “We’re talking about doing a women’s title and we’re also talking about an all-women’s show where we feature one night of all women’s fights. “That’s something that I’d like to present to the public, a night of women’s fights. I think that would be a major milestone.”

Shaw stated that the first women’s title, at 140 lbs, could possibly be decided as early as this fall, with the winner of the scheduled bout between Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young on May 31st possibly being able to be part of the historic bout. Additional titles could be added in the future depending on the amount of divisions the organization decides to incorporate.

The all-female show, which are rare these days save the events put on by California-based Fatal Femmes Fighting, would be the first to be televised on national television. (Showtime) Shaw also stated that while many of the other major organizations have refused to put on female fights, his promotion will continue to do so without hesitation.

“We’ll continue putting women on Showtime and on CBS and we’ll continue putting them on the ShoXC cards as well,” Shaw said. “If no one else wants to do it, it’s all the better for us.”

HT: MMA Junkie

E:60 to Profile EliteXC’s Gina Carano

For the second time in a week, an EliteXC fighter will be featured on “E:60.”

The most recognizable face in women’s mixed martial arts, the incredibly popular and talented Gina “Conviction’’ Carano, of Las Vegas, will be profiled on “E:60” next Tuesday, May 13, on ESPN.

The multi-subject newsmagazine show starts at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Tuesday’s segment will include comments from Gina’s parents—her father, Glenn, is a former NFL quarterback—world-class women fighters Shayna Baszler and Tara LaRosa, the story behind Gina getting involved in MMA and why she stopped going to college – 18 credits short of getting her degree – and the impact of her sudden stardom.

Carano, aka “Crush” on “American Gladiators,” will fight dangerous, confident, hard-hitting Hook ‘n Shoot champion Kaitlin Young, of Minneapolis, on the first-ever MMA primetime broadcast on network television when “CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights’’ premieres with a five-fight card on Saturday, May 31, on the CBS Television Network (9 p.m.-11 p.m. ET/PT).

EliteXC May 31st Tickets Go on Sale

Tickets for the upcoming EliteXC show on May 31st go on sale to the public on Friday, April 18th at 10am through Ticketmaster.  MMA on Tap has learned that a pre-sale of tickets started Wednesday morning.  The pre-sale can also be purchased through the Ticketmaster website.  The code is “Kimbo” for access to the pre-sale.

This EliteXC show will be broadcast live on CBS-TV, the first live MMA event on broadcast television in the United States.  The main event features internet fighting sensation Kimbo Slice against Pride veteran James Thompson.  EliteXC and CBS today confirmed the main card fights scheduled to be broadcast.

* Kimbo Slice vs. James “Colossus” Thompson (Heavyweights)

* “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler vs. Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (for EliteXC Middleweight title)

* Gina “Conviction” Carano vs. Kaitlin Young (140 lb. weight class)

* Phil Baroni vs. Murilo “Ninja” Rua (Middleweights)

* Brett “The Grim” Rogers vs. Jon Murphy (Heavyweights)

EliteXC Re-Signs Slice, Carano, and Lawler

LOS ANGELES - Fans can continue to expect to see mixed martial arts standouts and fan favorites Kimbo Slice, Gina Carano and Robbie Lawler fighting for Los Angeles-based ProElite, Inc.’s live fight division, EliteXC, for a long, long time.

“I am proud and very excited to announce that Kimbo, Gina and Robbie have all re-signed with us,’’ EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw said today. Terms of the long-term, multi-year agreements were not disclosed.

Kimbo, Carano and Lawler are three of EliteXC’s most popular, talented and exciting fighters and all will be featured Saturday, May 31, in the first of four prime time events on the CBS Television Network in 2008.

Kimbo (2-0) of Perrine, Fla., and Carano (5-0) of Las Vegas will face fighters to be announced while the exciting Lawler (15-4) of St. Louis will defend his EliteXC middleweight title against hard-hitting Scott “Hands Of Steel’’ Smith (15-4) of Sacramento, Calif., in a slugfest that figures to be non-stop, toe-to-toe action.

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Evening News and Notes: April 14, 2008

Despite being scheduled to challenge B.J. Penn at UFC 84: Ill Will next month, former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk was only officially released from his suspension under the California State Athletic Commission earlier today it was announced. Sherk had not paid his $2,500 fine until this afternoon according to CSAC official Bill Douglas.

Fisher-Stephens Signed for TUF 7 Finale

A lightweight bout between Iowa natives Spencer Fisher and Jeremy Stephens will likely take place at The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale according to our friends at MMA Junkie. Both fighters were offered the bout last week and bout agreements are expected to be signed shortly.

Fisher is coming off of a unanimous decision loss to Frankie Edgar in November. Stephens, who last stopped Cole Miller with strikes in January, was originally slated to take on Terry Etim next month but was forced to pull out of the bout due to a reported minor legal situation.

Carano Speaks Out

Ariel Helwani of the newly created MMARated.com, a good friend of the site, has a very interesting interview with Gina Carano up. Carano claims that she will attempt to balance tapings for the second season of American Gladiators and training for her upcoming fight against Kaitlyn Young on May 31st at the same time. Interestingly enough, she also states that despite being advertised for EliteXC: Street Certified in February, she was never approached about fighting at the event. It’s a must listen, so check it out.

In Defense of Jake O’Brien

Fight Opinion‘s Iain Liddle has an interesting piece up today discussing the UFC’s decision to release heavyweight prospect Jake O’Brien, who was given the boot despite winning three out of his four bouts with the organization, including an upset over current title contender Heath Herring.

While Liddle bashes the UFC for their decision to let such a promising young fighter like O’Brien go, I believe it was really in O’Brien’s best interest. His wins over Shockman and Midoux were victories over fighters that shouldn’t have been in the UFC in the first place. He was nearly stopped by Herring, who was fighting injured, during the third round of their fight. A non-wrestler in Arlovski also dominated him.

We have to remember that O’Brien hasn’t even been in the game for three years yet. He has a lot of time to develop. Fights against top-ranked heavyweights have certainly helped him and using that experience while sharpening his skills in smaller shows will make for a quick return to the UFC. I don’t buy the notion that the UFC released him because he was a boring fighter. If that was the case, Lyoto Machida would have been sent packing a long time ago.

Carano-Young, Rogers-Murphy Confirmed for EliteXC in May

Elite Xtreme Combat parent company ProElite has officially announced two additional bouts for the organization’s first prime-time televised show on CBS.

American Gladiators star Gina Carano will return to action against Minnesota Martial Arts Academy product Kaitlin Young at the event.

Carano has not fought since submitting Tonya Evinger at EliteXC: Uprising in September of last year. She remains undefeated thus far in her professional career while maintaining her status as the most well-known female fighter in mixed martial arts today.

Young suffered her first career loss after winning her first four fights last year, losing to Sara Schneider at a Bodog Fight event in February. Young will be making her debut under the EliteXC banner.

A rumored heavyweight bout between prospects Brett Rogers and Jon Murphy has also been confirmed by the promotion.

“EliteXC and CBS Saturday Night Fights” will take place on May 31st and will take place at the brand new Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, the same venue that hosted UFC 78: Validation last year.

Heavyweight sensation Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson is slated to headline the event against an opponent yet to be named. Robbie Lawler will also put his EliteXC middleweight belt on the line against Scott Smith in a bout that will likely be a sure-fire war on the feet. 

EliteXC Announces Details on First CBS Show

Elite Xtreme Combat has announced that their first prime-time televised event on CBS, “EliteXC and CBS Saturday Night Fights” will take place on May 31st and will be broadcast live from the brand new Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, the same venue that hosted UFC 78: Validation last year.

“We’re excited to introduce broadcast television viewers to America’s fastest growing sport with this prime time event,” said Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President, CBS Primetime, in a press release sent out to the media today. “EliteXC is putting together a lineup card that showcases the unique personalities, world-class athleticism, and raw power and emotion that characterizes mixed martial arts.”

EliteXC heavyweight sensation Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson will indeed participate at the event against an opponent yet to be announced. EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler will also put on his belt on the line against Scott Smith in a bout that will likely be a sure-fire war on the feet.

Lawler has not fought since stopping Murilo Rua with strikes in September. He was slated to take on fellow heavy-hitter Kala Kolohe Hose in a December title unification bout but a nagging injury bug prevented Lawler from fighting and he was ultimately stripped of his ICON Sport belt. Smith knocked out Kyle Noke in his EliteXC debut last month.

“I am very happy for the highly trained fighters, who will finally get the kind of exposure they deserve, and, of course, the viewers, who will get the opportunity to learn that MMA is truly a sport that requires an abundance of skills, both mentally and physically,” said Gary Shaw, EliteXC Live Events President.

Five Ounces of Pain reports that a heavyweight swing bout between Brett Rogers and Jon Murphy is currently in the works and that Gina Carano may also return to action at the event as well.

Report: Carano Not Fighting for EliteXC in Feb

Gina Carano, the most popular female involved in mixed martial arts today and current American Gladiator, appears that she will not be fighting at EliteXC: Street Certified on February 16th after all.

Carano’s name was not mentioned in an announcement sent out by EliteXC officials earlier today, which is odd considering that Carano’s name would only add to the drawing power of the event, which already features a main event between internet street fighting legend Kimbo Slice and former UFC brawler Tank Abbott.

Our friends at MMA Junkie have confirmed with an official close to EliteXC that Carano will definitely not be on the card. No word as of yet concerning an official reason as to why Carano will not be competing, although MMA Junkie reports hearing rumors that Carano and EliteXC are currently not on good terms.

Some have suggested that Carano may have gone ahead and agreed to be on NBC’s American Gladiators against the wishes of EliteXC but nothing has been confirmed.

CKA: Jan 7, 2008

NBC has released a nice video introducing each of the women American Gladiators, including Gina Carano. She was pretty impressive last night in my opinion and I’m sure everyone got a kick out of her pulling guard during the “Pyramid” event. Another episode is on this evening in it’s normal time slot at 8:00 PM EST on NBC.

Cage Potato says that last night’s episode was terrible. I think it was bad but not that bad, with a few changes it’ll be better.

Catching up...

Here’s a little catch-up on some of the things that we may have missed over the weekend:

Bloody Elbow: Vince McMahon and the UFC
Houston Chronicle: Henderson supremely confident prepping for Silva
MMA Weekly: UFC Offers Machida Fight With Ortiz
TKO Xtreme: Xtreme Couture Coming to Toronto
Sherdog: Hardy Headed for U.S. in ‘08
MMA Junkie: Heath Herring Offered UFC 82 Fight with Cheick Kongo
Five Ounces of Pain: Xtreme Couture to field team at IFL opener on Feb. 29
Sam Caplan: Baroni talks career options and steroids
Fight Opinion: He’s back… Bob Meyrowitz

Our rumors page will be updated as soon as possible.

Matyushenko and Palaszewski Move to Chicago IFL Team

IFL light heavyweight champ Vladimir Matyushenko and popular lightweight Bart Palaszewski have opted to leave their respective teams and join the new Chicago franchise in the IFL according to The Fight Network:

According to Palaszewski, the team will be affiliated with former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski’s team and trainers, and will include former Chicago Red Bear Mark Miller (8-2), and IFL light heavyweight champion Vladimir Matyushenko (20-3). Matyushenko transferred from the now-defunct Los Angeles Sabres team.

Palaszewski said the team will train at Sean Bormet’s Overtime School of Wrestling in suburban Naperville, home of Arlovski and Team Pitbull. Overtime’s coaching staff is comprised of wrestling standouts Bormet, Kerry Boumans, and John Kading, along with boxing trainer Mike Garcia and jiu-jitsu specialist Dino Costeas.

I thought it was the Tokyo Sabres and the Los Angeles Anacondas but whatever…

Pancrase Releases Partial Card for Jan 30 Event

Panrcrase has announced four scheduled bouts for the first event on it’s 2008 Shining Tour. The main event will feature Katsuya Inoue defending his welterweight King of Pancrase title against Satoru Kitaoka in the third career fight between the two.

The remainder of the card:

Daisuke Hanazawa vs. Wataru Takahashi
Shinsuke Shoji vs. Yuichi Ikari
Yuki Yamasawa vs. Seiya Kawahara

Radio Schedule

12-1 PM EST - TAGG Radio
1-3 PM EST - The Savage Dog Show
3-5 PM EST - The Beatdown
3-4 PM EST - The Fight Network Radio
9-10 PM EST - MMAWeekly’s Sound Off
11 PM EST - Knockout Radio

Sherdog debuted two new radio shows yesterday - MMA Sunday School with Scott Holmes and Rodney Dean; Gross Point Blank with site editor Josh Gross. Both will be airing regularly on Sundays.

Fightlinker is also still taking e-mailed questions until 6:00 PM EST today for their usual “mailbag” show that will go up later tonight.