You might think the girl considered to be the world’s best female fighter in the world would look like a cross between Rosie O’ Donnell and a roadkilled moose, but you’d be wrong -- Gina Carano is a knockout knockout artist who doesn’t just jet around the globe pummeling opponents, but she also stars as Crush on American Gladiators and nurtures a burgeoning acting career, including a part in EA’s real-time strategy game Command & Conquer: Red alert 3.
Quick Bio
If you were born just outside Dallas, Texas, like Gina was in 1982, and your father Glenn was a quarterback for the Cowboys, chances are you were going to end up being a tomboy. This particular tomboy obviously inherited some of her old man’s athletic prowess, as she played softball, soccer and led her high school basketball team to the Nevada state title.
However, this beauty also had brains enough to attend UNLV, where she majored in psychology. Rather than enter a career fixing people’s heads, Gina decided to pursue one that involved punching and kicking them.
She had become interested in Muay Thai, a hard-core martial art discipline, while living in Las Vegas. Gina Carano originally started Muay Thai as a way to stay in shape, but flourished under the tutelage of renowned teacher Master Toddy and began traveling internationally to compete in Muay Thai tournaments (a journey documented in the TV show Ring Girls). She amassed an impressive 12-1-1 record, and the world of Mixed Martial Arts took notice of this tough, beautiful new fighter making a name for herself.
While the prestige and exotic travel of Muay Thai were exciting, Gina Carano realized the big money was to be made in the more mainstream world of MMA. She worked with Randy Couture to master her ground game and submission skills needed to compete in leagues like UFC and EliteXC and, in no time, showed the world that Gina Carano was fists and feet above all other female fighters in the world.
She currently sports a perfect 6-0 record in MMA, but her personality and undeniable good looks have made her a star outside the ring. The producers of American Gladiators loved her mix of toughness and beauty, and cast her as Gladiator Crush. She’s also set to appear in the 2009 movie Blood and Bone alongside fellow fighter Kimbo Slice and actor Michael Jai White (Spawn, The Dark Knight).
Don’t think all this success has made her soft -- Gina Carano can still throw down with the best of them. She sat down with AM to tell us about her workout regime and more.
The Interview
Q1: How did you get involved with EA and Red alert 3?
Randy Couture was already part of it and we share the same agent, so they asked me to be a part of it too. I thought it was a great opportunity. I’ve never been part of a video game before.
Q2: I’ve seen some of the publicity shots -- do you think Natasha’s outfits are practical when fighting in a war?
(Laughs) I think the costume designer did an awesome job on all the outfits. And it’s not what I’m used to fighting in, but it was fun. It was a really great experience.
Q3: Do you play video games? If so, which ones?
I have played in the past. My knowledge of video games ends with Nintendo Mario Bros. But being part of this project kind of motivated me to expand into that world a little bit.
I think that MMA and video games and comic books and all that stuff kinda goes hand-in-hand in a way. The same types of people are attracted to the same things.
Q4: What is the future of EliteXC (the fight league Gina is under contract with, which is under financial pressure)?
I’ve been hearing the same rumors that everyone’s been hearing, but I’m as clueless as everyone else. I think the fighters really just want to move on… it sucks for us because we want to be scheduling these next fights and figure out what’s going on. It would be really nice to be a free agent because then maybe I could resign with EliteXC again, or someone else, and get paid a little bit better.
Quick Fact:
Gina Carano's idea of a great first date would include, none other than, going to see a fight.
Q5: You’ve said that your job is to fight, but with your career outside the ring taking off, how are you going balance the two seemingly conflicting careers?
I don’t get paid what people think I get paid for fighting. Fighting is my career, it’s what I love to do, but I am taking offers and trying to expand because the more I expand myself, the more valuable I become to promoters. And sometimes, that’s the only weapon you have, so you don’t just have to say yes to whatever comes your way. The more valuable I make myself, the safer I am.
Q6: What does the future hold for women in MMA?
We’ve got a bunch of 12 and 13 year olds training with us now, so it’s going to be amazing in a couple years. The reaction I’ve got is that people are interested. Sometimes there was only one female fight on the card and they just can’t stop talking about it. I think the future looks great.
Q7: You are described as the "face of women's mixed martial arts." Are you comfortable in that role?
I think I’ve gone through some ups and downs with being called that. At first I was just trying to fit in and people were already saying that. I was kind of getting frustrated because they were making such a big deal about it and not focusing on the right things.
Q8: Now onto some AM questions -- what’s the one quality you look for in a man?
A sense of humor. Not just any sense of humor, a weird one. He has to make me laugh.
Q9: What would be the ultimate first date?
The ultimate first date? Something that is completely out of the ordinary -- go crazy, because first dates are always a little awkward, so do something a little extreme.
Q10: How do you feel about lists that rate women based on their desirability and sexiness?
I think it’s a compliment wherever you fall on the list. I’m not going to put too much thought into it, you know. It doesn’t bother me.
Q11: You make a living based on your image… are you afraid of losing that image?
I’m not one of those people that believe you have one window of opportunity. I mean, I think there is a good time to strike and there’s not. Enjoy the positive things and if it goes your way, it goes your way. Your life’s not over because you didn’t make it to the place you wanted to make it. You’re life is still going on and you’re still that same passionate person you were. You’ve got to put value in that.
Q12: Who’s your ultimate man’s man? Why?
Johnny Depp. I am not sure if a lot of people think of him as a man’s man, but I’ve always loved the way he carries himself. That’s a man to me.
Q13: Is trading in your private life the price of fame? Is it worth it?
I like to have fun and I like to train, but I have to be careful now because when I go out people start putting their camera phones on me and I’m like "OK, this is a little weird. I feel like I am being watched." So it definitely makes me feel a bit more cautious now.
Q14: Do you believe in ghosts?
I definitely believe there is a huge spiritual world. Heaven and hell, angels and demons -- that type of stuff.
