It wasn’t just American Gladiators that kept Gina Carano from making weight on Friday. “Conviction” had also been busy filming live-action interlude scenes for Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, which will be released for Xbox 360 and PC in October. Here’s the promo, which shows her dressed as her character “Natasha.” (Hopefully she’ll have a terrible Russian accent in the game to go along with that name.) Warning: The cheesiness level on this one is HIGH.
Here’s Gina Carano’s segment from yesterday’s ESPN E:60, in which we learn that “Crush” got into kickboxing after one of Kit Cope’s trainers called her fat, she’ll be appearing in EA’s new Command and Conquer video game, she’ll never do Playboy, and Tara LaRosa still can’t stand her.
Related:MMAPayout reports that ESPN is launching an online MMA news show this Thursday, which will be hosted by Kenny Florian for the first two weeks. Said MMAPayout: “The program’s launch was apparently delayed by the UFC’s insistence that it be exclusive to the UFC.”
Heads up, “Crush/Conviction/Beautiful Disaster” fans — Gina Carano will be featured on today’s ESPN E:60, which airs at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. A sample clip is above; after the jump is a recent American Gladiators promo where Crush reveals she prefers pizza to sushi, and can’t watch love scenes because she’s single and it’s hard to see other people in love. Awwww! :’ (
The smirky dude above is Kristopher “Kit” Cope, a former Muay Thai champion with an unfortunate MMA record of 1-4. You might know him as the dude who used to be engaged to Gina Carano, or the guy who got hit with a steroid suspension after getting steamrolled by Rob McCullough at WEC 25, or as one of the subjects in MTV’s True Life episode “I’m a Muay Thai Fighter.” According to his Wikipedia page, “He once armwrestled a warewolf [sic] and won.”
Anyway, you’ll be seeing him again if you watch the MTV, as the network has enlisted him for their upcoming special “True Life: I’m An MMA Fighter.” According to MMA Junkie, Cope’s segment of the show will focus on his World Fighting Championships match against Dave Cochran, which takes place May 30 in Atlantic City. EliteWrestling.net reports that Frankie Edgar is also being filmed for the show, which will premiere in August.
Despite the fact that it’s produced by MTV — which is largely responsible for the collective plummeting of our nation’s IQ (don’t get me started) — I’m not ashamed to say that I’m a big fan of True Life, particularly their episodes “I’m a Meth Addict,” “I’m an Alcoholic,” “I Have O.C.D.,” “I’m Back From the War and Also a Meth Addict,” and “I’m a Teenager and Pregnant Again and a Heroin Addict.” The train-wreck quality of the subjects is endlessly compelling. Usually, the show follows three subjects in varying degrees of their shared personal crisis. At least one winds up rising above their challenges, and at least one falls deeper into them; part of the attraction in watching the show is trying to figure out how everyone’s story will end.
So if you’re asking yourself why they’re using Kit Cope, of all people, as a standard-bearer for mixed martial arts in the sport’s first appearance on MTV, just chill. Depending on how he performs on May 30th, the editors might use Kit as an object lesson for the pitfalls of trying to make it as a professional fighter, especially when one is haunted by steroid abuse and losing your really hot and famous fiancee; or, he could be portrayed as a guy who’s finally getting his career on track. Either way, it’ll almost certainly be a more genuine portrayal of MMA than you’ll find elsewhere on basic cable…
Yesterday’s Quote of the Day involving Dana White’s guarded interest in Kimbo Slice had us wondering if the UFC would try to make a play for the popular brawler after his four-fight EliteXC contract was finished. Well, such a play will have to wait, as EliteXC has wisely re-signed Slice — as well as Gina Carano and middleweight champion Robbie Lawler — to long-term, multi-year contracts. In a press release sent out last night, EliteXC Live Events prez Gary Shaw said:
“We’re extremely happy to get these deals done with Kimbo, Gina and Robbie. Fighters know EliteXC is the place to be and the organization to fight for, which is why we’ve always been able to sign or re-sign almost each and every one of our fighters…You don’t see our guys leaving. With us, it’s family and all about the fighters. Every fighter who has fought on an EliteXC card has come away being ambassadors for EliteXC.”
On Gina “Crush” Carano, Shaw said:
“She truly is the face of women’s MMA, an inspiration to many up-and-coming athletes and is a perfect illustration as to why women do indeed have a place in this sport and with EliteXC.”
Slice, Carano, and Lawler will be competing on EliteXC’s premiere Saturday Night Fights broadcast, which airs May 31st on CBS. Though an official lineup will be released in the next few days, the televised card is looking like this:
Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson vs. James Thompson (heavyweights)
Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young (140-pound limit)
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith (middleweight championship fight)
Phil Baroni vs. Murilo “Ninja” Rua (middleweights)
Brett Rogers vs. John Murphy (heavyweights)
Good news, Potato Nation: MMA/American Gladiators star Gina Carano will be taking a break from making us cry. EliteXC announced today that Carano has been booked for their May 31st CBS debut, and will face Kaitlin Young, a 4-1 fighter hailing from the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. Most notably, Young won an eight-woman HooknShoot tournament last November, knocking out three opponents in the same night, all within the first minute of the first round. [Ed. note: Holy fucking shit! Mo chuisle!] So basically, Gina’s gonna want to protect her face.
Also officially announced today is a bout between undefeated brawler Brett Rogers — who most recently knocked out James Thompson at “Street Certified”— and fellow heavyweight John Murphy. Meaning that the tentative main card, at this point, looks like this:
Kimbo vs. TBA (heavyweights)
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith (for middleweight championship belt)
Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young (weight limit TBA?)
Phil Baroni vs. Murilo “Ninja” Rua (middleweights)
Brett Rogers vs. John Murphy (heavyweights)
Ooh, feel our goosebumps! The booking of Carano was clutch, as it adds a second mainstream-ish star to the network broadcast. We don’t know how much green Gary Shaw had to promise in order to lure the semi-estranged Carano back into the fold, but if it helps put EliteXC over with a skeptical CBS audience, it’ll be worth it. The only question is, has Crush been getting in enough MMA training between pugel-stick jousts and zip-line rides?
