Damon Martin: Gina Carano Gives Her Take on Tate vs. Rousey

Gina Carano may be moving on to a career as a Hollywood action starlet, but that doesn’t mean she still doesn’t get excited for women’s MMA.
The next big fight coming up is of course the first women’s fight to headline a major Showtime card in Strikeforce since Carano faced Cris “Cyborg” Santos in 2009.
Miesha Tate defends her Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title against Ronda Rousey in a highly anticipated Tate vs. Rousey main event on March 3 in Columbus, Ohio.
Carano, who just signed on to star in the upcoming film In the Blood, says that for as much as she’d like to attend the Tate vs. Rousey fight, she wants the two ladies at the top of the card to get the attention, not her.
“I would love to. The only reason I haven’t gone to a bunch of the women’s fights, cause I absolutely love them, but I don’t want to show up and people are like ‘Gina’s trying to show up to steal attention’ or trying to challenge anybody. They usually put the camera on me and that’s their moment,” Carano told MMAWeekly Radio recently.
“So I’d love to come out, but I’d love to come out as a fan instead as of a potential opponent, because that’s Miesha and Ronda’s moment. I’m so excited about that fight.”
When breaking down the fight, Carano was reluctant to point at one fighter or the other in regards to who has a clear advantage, but she seemed to be leaning towards the incumbent champion, Miesha Tate.
Carano says she learned her lesson underestimating Tate when she won the title in her last fight against Marloes Coenen in July 2011.
“I completely thought that Marloes Coenen was going to win in that last fight against Miesha, so I was really impressed with Miesha. I think Miesha Tate works really hard and I think a lot of people thought Marloes was going to win that fight, so I think she gained a lot of respect from a lot of people,” said Carano.
“I don’t think we can underestimate her anymore. She’s a legit opponent.”
As for upstart competitor Ronda Rousey, Carano is also impressed by her prowess both inside and outside the cage. An Olympic Judo medalist, Rousey brings a strong athletic background to the fight on March 3, not to mention the gift of gab which has served her very well leading up to her first title fight in MMA.
“I think it’s really cool that Ronda’s an Olympic athlete. She’s been a part of a lot of competitions, she’s got the drive, and obviously she’s got the skill,” Carano stated. “Not one of her fights has gone out of the first round, so I think it’s going to be really interesting to see.”
The end result for Carano is just seeing two women carry the division to a new plateau. If Carano set the stage, she’s hoping that Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey are the act that brings the crowd to their feet in a frenzy of excitement.
“Both of those women are hard workers and have stronger personalities. I hope that it does well,” said Carano. “I’m super excited about it.”

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