Gina Carano has an idea of what a comeback would look like.
Back in the early days of MMA women were not too welcome. Female MMA fighters had to fight on underground cards, for far less pay and exposure than their male counterparts. It wasn’t until 2013 that women were introduced to the UFC. Ronda Rousey was brought in as champion and women’s MMA began to take off. Although Rousey may be the most notorious female MMA fighter on the planet, she credits another for her role in the start of the sport, Gina Carano.
Carano fought professionally from 2006 to 2009, and although that seems like a short career her impact on the next generation was great. Carano has since moved on from fighting into a Hollywood career but is now looking back on her time as a mixed martial artist. She sat down for an interview with DailyWire+ to talk about how she first got into fighting and more.
“I just was kind of not headed in a good direction in my life and I walked into a gym, and a Thai man called me fat. So I was like, shoot. So I signed up with lessons with him and we immediately, I mean dropped 30 pounds, started fighting, became extremely addicted to it, started traveling to Thailand and it was just I don’t know, it was just something about me and fighting clicked,” she said. “But usually, I just go there for a reset, stay in the Thai camps, and just kind of connect to myself again. So I know some people do yoga, I would go into fight camps.”
Gina Carano talks about the possibility of a return to fighting
Although it seems like Carano’s MMA career is far behind her, she is still getting called out. Recently Rousey spoke out about her dream scenario if she ever returned to MMA and said Carano would be her choice. She said some nice things about her predecessor, and the admiration was returned. Carano chose Rousey as well for a dream matchup if the opportunity were to present itself.
“She’s always been extremely respectful of me and my career. So I take that as an honor. And honestly, if I ever did get back in fight shape, she would be my card as well,” she said. “Because I mean, what an honor. You know what she did in the sport. And she’s saying this about me. It’s very, very sweet to know.”
Since leaving MMA, Carano has starred in many film and TV projects. Her most recent project is a film called Terror on the Prairie where Carano also serves as a producer.
