Retouching History: Is the Coverage of Gina Carano Misleading?
By Josh Stein on Jun 22, 2009
Her talent is undisputable, but the degree to which she is self-made is up for discussion.
It should be made clear from the offset that Gina Carano’s role in women’s MMA is not debatable. She is the face of the female incarnation of the sport. She is beautiful, charismatic and an incredible fighter. It is not possible to debate any of those points, as far as I’m concerned, and so it is not even worth wasting time with them.
What is debatable, though, is whether (as some elements would like readers to believe) Gina Carano is a self-made queen of the sport who conquered all of the challenges the world presented. The press image, and perhaps the popularly accepted image, (and it’s unclear whether the chicken or the egg came first on that one) is that Carano is a thai fighter who came out of obscurity through hard work, exciting wars and a desire to champion female MMA, leading the lesser known branch of the sport into mainstream consciousness.
What is debatable, and what needs to be debated, is whether or not the perception of Gina as a self-made figurehead is realistic. Certainly, the characteristics that have made her a fixture in the sport make it clear that there is no one better to lead women’s MMA, but whether she was brought into the lead with the aid of those looking to further the cause should be scrutinized a little more carefully.
Gina’s muay thai career was well underway and well established when she entered the world of MMA, and her capacity as a striker was impressive to anyone who saw her fights. Certainly, she was one of the best female muay thai fighters in the western hemisphere, if not the world. Muay thai fighters have often been great standard bearers for the sport of MMA, because of their tendency to win fights standing, with viscious strikes, which helps them garner popular support (i.e. Wanderlei Silva, Pedro Rizzo and Anderson Silva). Strikers make for good figureheads in MMA, this is common knowledge among promoters, as well as the journalists who cover the sport. Even if the top fighters in the world are grapplers, their edge over top strikers has to be decisive because, lets face it, the casual fans see highlight reel knockouts and get far more excited than they will over highlight reel submissions (not that I particularly like this phenomenon, but it’s a reality among casual fans).
The fact that Carano was exciting, the fact that she was willing to stand and bang was well established before fighting in MMA, but became clear quickly when she started defeating respectable female fighters. While her debut against Leiticia Pestova already established what everybody knew about Gina (that girl hits hard), it didn’t mean much because it wasn’t on the big stage. Her second bout against Rosi Sexton, though, was. For those who knew women’s MMA, Rosi Sexton was a big deal. She was 5-0 with five finishes and was the top female fighter coming out of the U.K. It’s worth noting, of course, that Sexton is still a big deal, as she’s 10-1, with her only loss coming at the hands of Carano, who defeated Sexton by KO in second.
That fight got a lot of attention, if for no other reason than because it was a great fight and a great performance. Setting aside what people knew about Gina and what they knew about Rosi (which, for a casual fan showing up at the event was absolutely nothing), people knew that Gina was a fantastic fighter when she stepped out that night, and her career followed suit.
This is where the narrative hits a fork in the road. Certainly, the win over Sexton was what first established Gina (then 2-0) as a notable female mixed martial artist, but it would be serious overlooking the facts if we chose to ignore the contract which followed. Gina was brought in to fight at Strikeforce against Elaina Maxwell and while Strikeforce may not have been, at that time, the powerhouse it was now, it was a solid organization with a great deal of respect in California, and it was certainly in the early stages of demonstrating its potential as an organization.
Gina appeared on the main card of the event, which was headlined by Cung Lee and Josh Thompson (Lee fighting Jason Von Flue and Thompson fighting Nam Phan). Gina’s fight with Elaina Maxwell established what we knew, yet again. She is a great fighter, with great standup, and she did a good job showcasing it.
The issue here, though, is that whie this is a great fight, it was not a dominant, finishing performance. The win that Gina garnered was decisive and deserved, but the fact that she became the most recognizable face in women’s MMA as a result of appearing in Strikeforce, and then moving to EliteXC, has a lot to do with the way the event was promoted.
When Gina moved into EliteXC for her next fight, we saw the beginnings of a star. A beautiful woman with a stellar highlight reel (which looked longer, because there were a lot of clips that could be taken from Unanimous Decision win over Maxwell), Carano became a press darling because she did killer interviews, was incredibly modest and had a great personal narrative. That takes nothing away from the fact that she’s a great fighter, but she’s more recognizable than Miguel Torres, and it’s because Torres would never be invited to do a spread in Maxim.
EliteXC made the decision to build its organization built on image more than talent. In some cases, they happened to have both (this is true for Gina, who is immensly talented, on top of having a fantastic image), but in others, they were more flash than substance (see Kevin Ferguson).
EliteXC made a point of building Gina as their great female fighter, establishing a 140 pound weight class which differed from convention, because Gina had the ability to make that weight cut (at the time, she could not make 135, but would have been a little small at 145; this will be addressed again later). This “Gina Carano division” is probably the largest piece of evidence that she was picked by EliteXC as someone they could market well, to tie their own brand to a top tier athlete.
While the business plan for EliteXC may have been terrible, it is hard to dispute that their marketing hasn’t played a huge role in how Gina is percieved. Seen widely as the technical striker (an image that’s applicable, but was not given to her upcoming opponent, Christiane Santos, who may deserve the title just as much), Gina’s ability to take over the mainstream was certainly aided by the appearances on major televisions stations. While she would certainly be the #1 featherweight female MMA fighter in the world without the help of EXC marketing, it’s hard to believe that she would be #1 female MMA personality in the world, or that she would be the most notable MMA fighter (it is, in my opinion, hard to argue that Gina is the best female MMA fighter in the world, as long as Megumi Fujii is actively competing in the sport).
This is a question that needs to be raised, or simply a point that should be made periodically: EXC helped Gina a lot.
Gina deserved the help, but it wasn’t as though she’s the Million Dollar Baby, being backed by an old creeper like Eastwood and no one else. She had a PR department at her back, helping keep the focus off of her weight issues, as she started to put on some muscle mass and was clearly no longer equipped athletically for that weight cut to 140 and that “Gina Carano weightclass.” Even now, Carano has the support of the Strikeforce PR team, who seem to have done a good job keeping people from writing about the irony of both Carano and Santos moving up in weight after struggling for some time.
There can be no question that Gina will remain the top female MMA personality in the world. Even if she loses to Christiane “Cyborg” Santos when they fight in August, she will be the most highly regarded woman in MMA today. However, it is worth acknowledging that history is, from time to time, photoshopped in order to make the personal narrative more interesting, or to help make a point about how much someone has accomplished, and there does need to be some skepticism with respect to how media (especially in the mainstream) chooses to cover Gina, and if there is truly intellectual honesty in that coverage.
Gina Carano (7-0) and Christiane “Cyborg” Santos (7-1) will meet at Strikeforce in San Jose on August 15th for the women’s 145 pound title, the first women’s title fight in a major organization. All appearances suggest that the bout will be the main event on the card, alongside Josh Thompson vs. Gilbert Melendez, who are fighting for the Strikeforce Lightweight Title. The bout will be held at HP Pavillion and will be broadcast live on Showtime.
Filed Under: MMA
Good article–but like many things in the fight game it all comes down to what drives media attention, puts butts in the seats, gets PPV buys and so forth. HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant had an all time great quote on this subject when he intro’d the George Foreman/Michael Moorer fight. You’ll remember that he was coming in off the loss to Tommy Morrison and wasn’t the most deserving of a title shot based on his recent form. Merchant’s quote–”There are many good fighters, but very few stars. George Foreman is a star.” summed up that situation perfectly and applies just as well to Gina Carano.
And the beautiful thing about fighting is that once you enter the ring or cage, no amount of hype or PR can help you. We’ll learn a lot about Gina from the Cyborg fight that’s for sure…
Jim, I’m with you. I will never take anything away from Gina as a fighter. She’s pretty incredible as an athlete.
Also, I like the quote on Foreman, though. Very true.
Gina us a great fighter, just see his record, she is undefeated, she is the face of girls MMA, there are a lot of girl fighters, but she is the most famous of all, she will prove why against Santos
I agree, it is a lot of hype and there are far better fighters… We’ve got fighters who are 17-1, many girls who have been fighting way before Gina. She is very well connected, with her dad and some other things… And the weight issue is just embarrassing… I’d be embarrassed. She missed weight for Rosi Sexton’s fight too and then pulled the “you didn’t fly all this way not to fight” bullshit. And then missed weight against Kaitlin and most likely against Kelly as well. If she’s the face of women’s MMA then we’ve got a long way to go… Having said that, I think she’s got a good shot against Cyborg… but title shot? Would like to see her fight Marloes Coenen and Erin Toughill first.
Yael, they gave Hitomi Akano that same speech at Strikeforce. Josh Barnett and her management were having none of it, and good for them. I still hope Hitomi took home the fattest check in the history of women’s MMA on that one, cuz she got screwed.
I’m actually excited for this fight because they’re booth such phenomenal athletes. Cyborg scares the crap out of me, though. (both her and Evangelista are wonderful people, but they intimidate me)
Fujii, by far, is the #1 female MMA fighter in the world. In that featherweight weightclass, there are a lot of issues with who fits in where (we’ve talked about that a few times) and I think Gina is an arguable #1 at 145, but Fujii is the best female fighter in the world.
The weight issue aside (I think it has to do with a variety of factors including the lack of Female MMA fighters to make a lot of weight classes, and the idea of cutting weight to be bigger in a division etc…) Gina deserves her fame. As far as being the best Female MMA fighter in the world the same issues plague male fighters. For years there was debate about Liddell vs. Wanderlai for example and it was never really answered until after they had both gone past their primes. The question facing female MMA may be answered. But Gina has done more for female MMA and in turn in MMA in general. I would argue that more than any one male MMA fighter she has taken the mainstream because of her fighting ability, good looks, and personality. Promoters take advantage of this after all because they want to make money first, but I think while Gina is also taking advantage of the situation as well, a lot of what goes on in the cage (i.e. the Gina weight class) is beyond her control. Nice article Josh!
Making weight is beyond her control? Who is forcing her to sign contracts at weights she can’t make?
Actually I wrote a whole article about this http://bleacherreport.com/articles/168870-womens-mma-and-the-elephant-in-the-room-making-weight
Bill, the fact that EXC created a weightclass for her was certainly not her decision (Yael, that’s what he’s talking about), but my point is that its not as though this women came out of the middle-tier of women’s MMA the way that Fedor came out of Rings, decimating a dozen opponents and moving into the fore-front of MMA.
She deserves respect, for sure, but I won’t call her the best female fighter in the world. Megumi Fujii is 17-0 with only three of those bouts going to decision. Gina has a 7-0 record, but also has three decisions. Fujii destroys people in a way that Gina simply doesn’t.
Anyway, glad you liked it, Bill.
Yael I don’t think anyone is forcing her to sign contracts, actually it is the opposite. The truth is that Gina is one of the most marketable MMA fighters out there (I would argue with Liddell almost assuredly gone she’s in the top 5 if not top 3), but at what weight class would she fight? Hey if she cannot make the weight she should fight in a higher class, but the better fighters are at the lower weight classes.
And Josh I don’t know if I would call her the “best” but who knows when we will find out. She has Cyborg coming up which will be tough and then for Fujii we will have to wait and see. But actually and this may get people upset, she is the best thing to happen to female MMA.
With all due respect to Gina, she probably has more negotiating power than just about any female fighter in women’s MMA. Nobody forced her to sign contracts at weights she couldn’t make over and over again. And since she’s missed weight on several occasions before working with XC, the weight class excuse doesn’t really hold water. And many women have successfully cut weight even when fighting a lot lower than what they walk at so the gender excuse is BS whether it’s coming from Gina or Cyborg.
And as far as female fighters, in addition to Fujii… Tara LaRosa is 17-1, Marloes Coenen is 16-3, hell even Erin Toughill is 10-2-1. Sarah Kaufman is 10-0 with only two decisions.
Yes, Gina can fight but the “face of women’s MMA” bullshit was being thrown around before she had the record she does now and is mostly based on what she looks like and her connections through her father. Having said that, she has certainly proved me wrong re: her fighting ability. And I think she will likely win her next fight. But I agree with Josh that a lot of this is just…well, hype, really.
Uh… how about, fight at a higher weight class, or make weight? Not blowing up between fights might be a good start…
Bill, it’s not an issue of her being forced to sign contracts. It’s an issue of her signing contracts, breaking them, and having the contracts renegotiated so that her opponents will fight her at their weight. I saw it in person with Cyborg vs. Akano, but a lot of these fighters, when their opponent doesn’t make weight, get pressured into fighting anyway, even though they should be entitled to take their money and walk away.
She is the best thing to happen to women’s MMA, I’m not gonna dispute that. She’s going to headline the most watched women’s MMA event in the history of the world in August, and I’ll be sitting there (live, I’m sure, since it’s in San Jose) writing about it. That said, it’s an issue of disproportionate hype.
Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz were the best things for publicizing MMA. That doesn’t make them the best fighters in the world.
Randy Couture is a publicity machine. So’s Brock Lesnar. It doesn’t mean they’d stand a snowballs chance in hell in the ring against Fedor.
The hype is not appropriate in comparison to reality. The reality is, her legitimacy as the top woman in the world is seriously questionable. That said, she’s a helluva fighter, and I enjoy watching her step in.
Yael, you also forgot Yuka Tsuji, who has more fights than any female fighter I know of, and an incredibly impressive record. I’m hoping for a Fujii vs. Tsuji matchup in the future.
Yael I would agree, but once she doesn’t make weight who is responsible for the fight going on then? Aside from Erin Toughill I cannot think of a fighter at a higher weight class. I am sure promoters have no problem forcing the fight. And other fighters do not as well, because if they beat her they gain instant publicity.
And Josh the point you make that her stance as the best MMA fighter in the world is questionable is true. But perception is a big part of MMA, especially if the two or three best do not fight. Fedor is a prime example,until he gets in the UFC (if ever) there will be those that will doubt him as the best fighter in the world. No matter how many former UFC Champions he beats or causes to run away from him (Couture).
Bill, it’s not as though the women I’m talking about aren’t fighting. Fujii fought three times in 2008 and once already in 2009. She’s fought more often than Gina, and been more dominant in her performances and (to the best of my knowledge) not had any weight issues).
As far as Fedor goes, the casual fans can doubt him, but if you look at a group like the Independent World MMA Rankings panel, all guys with very different views on the sport, we all agree that Fedor is #1 (in fact, one of the few fighters we all agree on). There’s no perception issue among those who know about his career.
There are plenty of fighters in the women’s 145 pound division. You’ve never heard of them, because people don’t talk about the prospects in women’s MMA, but they exist. Marloes Coenen (who Yael mentioned) is much bigger. Cindy Dandois is a definite prospect. These fighters exist, but Gina has been protected from fighting larger opponents in that weight class, which sort of goes towards my point of not really being a self-made fighter and having serious support from her promotion.
Also, most of the women Gina is fighting get paid pebbles for their fights (actually most female fighters with the exception of Gina don’t get paid shit) so they make much more from their sponsors. So if they pull out of the fight, not only are the promoters probably never going to work with them again but they also are losing all that sponsorship money.
Basically fighters who don’t make weight get a small financial penalty which allows them to basically “buy” a size advantage over their opponents… And I mentioned this in the article I cited… Losing a small part of their purse isn’t enough to stop it from happening.
BTW Josh, major kudos for writing about this because most MMA sites are too chickenshit.
It’s also worth noting that Gina came in around 8 lbs over the agreed 135 limit when she forught rosi sexton and then force rosi to fight at a higher weight class.
Rosi now fights at 125lbs and has made 120lbs and could make 115
Ian, that’s a fair point. She’s failed to make weight twice in seven fights and on one occasion made weight under curious circumstances. The Rosi Sexton fight was an early disappointment and chalked up to being, generally, green, but I feel about that bout the same way I felt about the Cyborg vs. Akano debacle:
“Really? You brought her up a weight class (even, arguably, two weight classes) and you’re going to weight in that heavy? Are you f*cking kidding me?”
Still, the fight with Young was really unforgivable, and the Kobold weigh in was sketchy. Having three disappointing/controversial weigh ins in seven fights is really not good, and she needs to knock it off, otherwise she’s going to lose a lot of fans as her career goes on.