Notes from FanHouse in Newark.
After a desultory first hour that featured two minutes of fighting and a lot of waiting around, the fans at the Prudential Center finally got excited about something going on in the ring. Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young gave good effort and and exciting fight that ended after two rounds when the doctor ruled that Young couldn't continue.
Young actually got the better of the bigger and heavily favored Carano in the first round, keeping her on her back for the lion's share of the action. The second round, though, saw Carano break through with a variety of strikes and kicks, including a foot to the body that may have led to the end if the bell hadn't stopped the round. The crowd was very into it, chanting lustily for Carano and, perhaps, showing that there's room for more women in the MMA mix.
Before that, the crowd was searching for any reason to get excited. They cheered lustily for local product Phil Baroni as he made his way to the cage but were let down when Joe Villasenor made quick work of him. The only other thing getting them excited is the appearance of Plaxico Burress of the Super Bowl champion Giants near the cage.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-31-2008 @ 11:34PM
boxingfan789 said...
Gina Carano didn’t make weight for this fight. She was 144.5 on a 140 limit. The 140 weight class was created for her. It was Carano’s responsibility and contractual obligation to make weight.
This fight should have been cancelled due to the weight violation. Carano likely weighed another 10+ pounds at fight time.
A note to fighters – When negotiating a contract, get 50 percent up-front, no returns, stick to the strict terms of the contract, and don’t accept extra money to allow your opponent to breach. Young accepted money as a fine for Carano’s weight and fought a much heavier opponent as a result.
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6-01-2008 @ 12:05PM
JoeT said...
I agree. She probably outweighed her by 15 lbs.
Very unprofessional on Carano's part.
http://www.fromthecage.com
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6-01-2008 @ 10:11PM
Nathiest said...
+-Gina over weight fight should had be canceled-+
Gina was only 4 lbs over thats that. extra 10 lbs is a fictional lie. Besides Gine had to pay for being over weight by forfeiting 12% of her winning to Young.
+-Young actually got the better of the bigger and heavily favored Carano in the first round, keeping her on her back for the lion's share of the action.-+
Actually if you bothered to watch the fight That once Young got Gina on her back Gina use a rare move * Where Gina brought her leg up Young's throat and then applied down word pressure to the back of Young's head chocking her. Gina had full control of the situation.
Congratulations to Gina getting the TKO! 6 and 0 baby!!!
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6-02-2008 @ 2:28PM
boxingfan789 said...
Some very knowledgeable MMA people estimated Carano’s weight at 155 by comparing weigh-in photos to fight photos and her inability to make weight by 4.5. These same people estimated Young’s weight at 143-145 but her appearance at weigh-in closely matched her fight appearance.
I did watch the fight. The extra weight helped Carano in the ground game and the force of her front kicks.
Carano was winded after the first round (she agreed in the post-fight interview). The left side of Young’s face was swollen, not cut, below her eye. She wanted to continue, the ring physician said OK, but the commission stopped the fight. The role of the commission is to approve a fight and the officials, not to stop a fight. The commission interfered. One report floating says the commission planned to stop a fight at the first sign of injury to shield a prime-time network audience from seeing carnage. This is consistent with not permitting the network to interview Young after the fight or attend the after-fight party where she could be interviewed.
The responsibility of a fighter is to make weight. Carano didn’t. And the only time a fine is levied and the fight continues is when the promoter of the event is also the promoter of the overweight fighter. Young should not have accepted the fine and told Carano to make weight or go home.
Carano’s weight problem was discussed well before this fight. She hurt herself and women’s MMA by not making 140.
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8-08-2008 @ 5:21PM
Nathiest said...
Months later and NO ONE CARES!!! All we care about is that Gina kicked that girls a s s!! Besides its not their weight or hight or build that makes one fighter better then they other it's their skill and determination Gina has it and the other girl does not.
8-11-2008 @ 7:21AM
boxingfan789 said...
Read the MMA blogs. Many people in the industry care and are critical of Gina Carano's repeated failures to make weight. It hurts Carano, EliteXC, and women's MMA.
Carano's next opponent is Kelly Kobald, a tough, intelligent, no-nonsense fighter who will not permit Carano to buy her way out of a weight violation. I would not be surprised if Kobald walks away from the contest if Carano fails to make weight. Rules are rules for EVERYONE to follow, even Carano.
And if the Carano-Kolbald fight doesn't happen, what happens to the expected Carano-Cris Cyborg contest? Cyborg's fighting on 10/4 against a lesser opponent and is expected to win. If Carano doesn't fight 10/4, she doesn't deserve to fight Cyborg.
And EliteXC is struggling financially. They can't afford a cancellation of the Carano-Cyborg fight. So Carano needs to put down the fork and start cutting weight now.
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