Regardless of how people may feel about UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, there’s certainly no denying the fact that she is essentially the face of women’s MMA at the present.
That being said it wasn’t that long ago that people remember when another woman held that distinction named Gina Carano.
This relationship may actually be significant considering the fact that Rousey has been quoted as saying her viewing of Carano’s EliteXC: Destiny match with Julie Kedzie is actually what inspired her to venture into MMA following her career as an Olympic judoku.
That being said it isn’t unreasonable to compare the two. There are several ways this can be done:
~ Weight and fighting style ~
Both women fought across the bantamweight and featherweight divisions at points in their careers. However, they did things in reverse of each other as Gina Carano actually started fighting at bantamweight and moved up to featherweight as her career progressed.
Rousey on the other hand started out at featherweight (she competed in the Olympics at 154 pounds) then dropped down to bantamweight where she currently competes. Then there are the contrasting fighting styles between the two. Carano was primarily a Muay Thai fighter whereas Rousey of course competed in the Olympics in Judo and has won every single fight with her trademark arm bar submission.
~ Participation in historic matches ~
At minimum both women could be considered pioneers in women’s MMA if for nothing other then being a part of the sport’s history. Carano competed in the first women’s MMA bout to be broadcast on network TV on CBS in the EliteXC: Primetime event and the first women’s bout to headline a major fight card in on Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg for the Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight (at the time called lightweight) title.
This fight was also significant in that it was the first women’s bout to go five minute rounds rather then the three minute rounds as had previously been done. Rousey participated in the first women’s bout in the UFC at UFC 157. Rousey was alongside Miesha Tate the first woman to coach The Ultimate Fighter which also included the first time women participated in The Ultimate Fighter.
~ Image ~
There’s no denying that both women are certainly beautiful and as a result they’ve had a sort of “Dangerous Beauty” image where they are perceived as beautiful but fully capable of disabling another opponent. However, their conduct differs vastly based on their personalities. Carano has been and still maintains an image of the beautiful but humble and chill woman who doesn’t trash talk or bad mouth others.
Rousey on the other hand never shies away from trash talking and making it clear when she doesn’t like someone. Both women have also had the opportunity to make movie appearances as a result of their participation in MMA in some capacity with Rousey breaking out soon.
Are there any other things that you think Carano and Rousey have in common that could be mentioned? Leave a comment!