*OFFICIAL* Strikeforce Thread - Aug 15th on Showtime - Gina vs Cyborg

[The TroutBum]

Just saw the fight -- I can only say that I am TERRIBLY unimpressed by Gina and her game. I'm shocked the fight lasted 5 minutes. I will NEVER watch another woman's MMA fight again, unless it's on free TV and/or there is nothing else on. What a waste of time.

[LEONARD]

About what I expected from Gina vs Cyborg...just too big and too strong.

Mousasi is a beast...love that dude. Can't stand Babalu...best result of the night for me...

Glad to see Melendez avenge his loss (I shouldn't have switched my pick!)...

and Werdum got his win so they can set him up against Fedor possibly. Mike Kyle couldn't have gift wrapped that guillotine any more than he did...jeez.

Jay Hieron beat Jesse Taylor in a decision also...

Some pics...
http://news.fightmagazine.com/strike...o-gallery-890/

[dbreiden83080]

Not a bad fight although at times on both their parts it was a little sloppy. Gina is a good fighter but Cyborg is way too big and strong for her. Womens MMA is so new and thin, Gina will beat 90% of the class pretty easy but not Cyborg, she is too much..

[oligarchy]

You obviously never watched her compete in Muay Thai or you wouldnt be saying this. They didn't create special weight classes for her when she was a nobody. She was a beast and a champion 12-1 Thai fighter. The most impressive thing about her was her power and her technique.

I didn't say she had a special weight class as a kickboxer, but in MMA. Again, who did she fight with winning records, or those that were even freaking ranked? Show me these oppenents and their records. It's easy to look powerful and have technique against people who have none.

[Blackjack]

Great fight ends as first round horn sounds, Cyborg punches too much
By Steve Cofield


What an atmosphere and what a one-round fight. Gina Carano and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos slugged it out all over the cage for what seemed like the longest five-minute round in MMA history. Cyborg was slightly ahead in the round when she got the fight to the ground with less than 20 seconds left. Carano covered up and took 15 unanswered shots on her arms and to the face through her guard. When Carano wasn't moving or defending herself, referee Josh Rosenthal felt compelled to stop the fight. The crowd seemed to think he could've held off since there was just one second left in the round. Cyborg (8-1) wins the Strikeforce women's lightweight le at the 4:59 mark of the first.

Carano (7-1) was emotional in the cage as they announced the winner and handed the belt to Cyborg. It was the first loss of her career. She was more than compe ive throughout, withstanding multiple flurries and attacks from Cyborg. She actually powered out of a kimura attempt with less than 45 seconds left in the round, and at times she looked like the crisper striker. But the volume coming from Cyborg was eventually too much to deal with. Cyborg delivered as a minus-170 favorite on Las Vegas betting boards.

The HP Pavilion rocked before and during the fight. There wasn't a three-second break in the action during the fight and much of the crowd was on its feet for the entire fight. It easily matched the atmosphere of any UFC or Strikeforce card featuring all male fighters.

Now the question is, can Strikeforce and women's fighting build the sport around someone who isn't a beauty queen? Whether that statement offends you or not, reality is there was a reason Carano was part of American Gladiators and did so many appearances on shows like Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel. That said, Carano is also far from finished. She proved even in a loss that she's a legitimate fighter. Maybe we see a rematch after both fighters get to test their skills against some of the other women as the sport grows.

[dbreiden83080]

Now the question is, can Strikeforce and women's fighting build the sport around someone who isn't a beauty queen.

NO!!!!

Not only is Cyborg built like a man, she speaks no english at all. Gina was the goods, they needed her to win plain and simple..

[djohn14]

I just hope I never have to see Gina get beat up again.

[BlackSwordsMan]

i hope woman mma is done with

[The TroutBum]

i hope woman mma is done with

That.

[Evan]

Now the question is, can Strikeforce and women's fighting build the sport around someone who isn't a beauty queen.

nope.

even in Japan where womens MMA is somewhat popular its still built on looks.

[angelbelow]

Not a bad fight, Cyborg was just too big.

[DMX7]

Gina got rocked by that "thing". I don't ever want to see women's MMA again. That was a terrible experience.

[Stringer_Bell]

I'm all for equality of the sexes. Even if Cyborg looks like a man she's technically a woman, Fedor vs Cyborg is the next logical step for Strikeforce if they want to compete with UFC's drawing power.

Gina needs a new camp, did she even know who she was fighting? I wasn't expecting that kind of a performance from her, maybe she would have recovered in the second round...but there wasn't a second round so it doesn't matter. >.<

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Gina was scared out of her mind, nowhere near mentally ready to handle this fight.

I don't see why all of you are hating so much on it, it was an exciting fight.

[robbie380]

Gina was scared out of her mind, nowhere near mentally ready to handle this fight.

I don't see why all of you are hating so much on it, it was an exciting fight.

she wasn't scared. her problem was that she wasn't in shape enough. gina is a really cute chick but her conditioning sucks for mma. i don't think she cares too much about staying in fighting condition if she gets gassed after 2 minutes.

[angelbelow]

Yea.. I thought it was an entertaining fight actually. Very nice pace.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

she wasn't scared. her problem was that she wasn't in shape enough. gina is a really cute chick but her conditioning sucks for mma. i don't think she cares too much about staying in fighting condition if she gets gassed after 2 minutes.

I agree about her conditioning. But you could just look at her demeanor and facial expression coming into the cage and prior to the bell....she was nothing close to confident.

[Blackjack]

she wasn't scared. her problem was that she wasn't in shape enough. gina is a really cute chick but her conditioning sucks for mma. i don't think she cares too much about staying in fighting condition if she gets gassed after 2 minutes.

Gina's finally been pushed and defeated by the likes of someone she'd never faced before, so the way she rebounds from it will tell us more about her desire as an MMA fighter than anything we've viewed thus far.

It's one thing to excel in a sport because your natural gifts, it's quite another thing to put in the work to be the best when the talent pool isn't devoid of compe ion.

[angelbelow]

Gina's finally been pushed and defeated by the likes of someone she'd never faced before, so the way she rebounds from it will tell us more about her desire as an MMA fighter than anything we've viewed thus far.

It's one thing to excel in a sport because your natural gifts, it's quite another thing to put in the work to be the best when the talent pool isn't devoid of compe ion.

Well said.

[polandprzem]

[polandprzem]

Old video but what I wanted to say thta women MMA is really not organised yet
Genius I am

And hopefully this fight will provide some actions that will help this sport grow.

Gina was losing this fight and seeing this fight once again I have no problems in stopping the fight by the ref. Although from the begining I wanted them to cool the pace to fight at least rounds ..
And man - how about having so much good positions and not taking adventage of it? Guys are on a diferent level, not ony because of a gender but really light years of experiance and ring behaviour.

All in all it was good to watch Mussasi and cyborg vs gina and then set myself to go to work.

Waiting for a news who they will come up with to fight Fedor ...

[BigMoneyTexas]

Cyborg vs Gina was entertaining for what it is but I really cant get into women's mma at all.

Moussasi is a beast, you could tell from the second he started walking to the ring that he was gonna dismantle Babalu. Kinda reminded me of watching Anderson before the Forrest fight. They had a "just another day at the office" swag to them.

[LEONARD]

Gina needs a new camp, did she even know who she was fighting? I wasn't expecting that kind of a performance from her, maybe she would have recovered in the second round...but there wasn't a second round so it doesn't matter. >.<

Couture's camp wasn't sufficient??

she wasn't scared. her problem was that she wasn't in shape enough. gina is a really cute chick but her conditioning sucks for mma. i don't think she cares too much about staying in fighting condition if she gets gassed after 2 minutes.

By all accounts she was in great shape...I think she was drained because of the big punches she was eating.

[desflood]

With her high-profile victory over Gina Carano this past weekend, newly crowned Strikeforce 145-pound women's champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos will now experience scrutiny like never before.

However, that type of attention almost always leads to speculation the Brazilian striker may be using performance-enhancing drugs.

In his latest "Ask the Doc" column, MMAjunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin answers a reader's question about the topic while also cautioning why seemingly harmless speculation can have such a negative impact on the sport.


* * * *


Hey Doc: It's out there so, why don't you address it? Do you think Cris "Cyborg" Santos is on steroids, growth hormone or other performance-enhancing drugs? – Anonymous

I know better, but I will give you my two cents on this subject.

I think that this question sheds light on three controversial issues in MMA: the prevalence of performance-enhancing-drug (PED) use, fighter bashing when your favorite fighter loses, and malicious or inappropriate comments directed toward female athletes.

I have absolutely no reason to believe or suspect Cris Santos of being anything other than a superb athlete, a fearless warrior, a champion and a great ambassador for MMA. She has been tested for performance-enhancing drugs in the U.S. many times, and to my knowledge, has never failed a screen.

It disappoints me when some vocal people in cyberspace hide behind a pseudonym and make malicious and baseless attacks against athletes that have never failed a screen for banned substances. These keyboard toxicologists think that they can merely look at an athlete and "know" that so-and-so is a "juicer." There is a term for that. It's called "delusions of grandeur," and medication may help.

Do I think that (for reasons that have nothing to do with Santos) it is time to start testing blood instead of urine? Absolutely.

Do I think that Santos should be ridiculed for putting in countless hours of hard work and being superbly fit? Absolutely NOT.

Fighter bashing is just weak. Your favorite fighter lost. Get over it. He or she shook hands with the victor and is not whining. But you are. How pathetic. One of the things that I love about MMA is that a good loss does not hurt a fighter.

Remember that this is MMA and not professional boxing. An MMA fighter with a 13-3 record can be a legitimate world champion or challenger – unlike boxing, where a fighter with a 13-3 record is generally viewed as garbage. For this reason, MMA fighters don't need to pad their records with tomato cans.

Many readers think that I am against women participating in combat sports. They couldn't be more wrong. I have no problem with it. I just think that currently many of the fights that I have seen are not that good. Again, it's just my opinion.

But by any reasonable standard, Santos is an excellent fighter, and Gina Carano is a good fighter. Gender has nothing to do with it.

I am appalled at the seemingly endless references to what a female athlete looks like and worse yet what sexual act some fool wants to perform on her or vice versa.

As someone who's been part of the legislative process recently, I know this and many other types of malicious commentary are the very ammunition that detractors of MMA use to wage their anti-legalization war. So, while some pitiful individuals are out there typing away spreading their filth and venom, other MMA fans should begin to realize why it is so hard to legalize MMA in some key states and countries.

And needlessly bashing a gifted and hard-working athlete such as Santos – with no proof of anything except her dominant fighting skills and a well-conditioned body – is a big reason why.

[desflood]

Tara's a good fighter and seems quite friendly in the interview, but I've talked to her before (not face-to-face - live fighter chat) and she seems to have a big disdain for female fans of mma. Apparently, since I don't fight or even train, I'm just some groupie looking to get laid