Because tonight's Strikeforce 145lb Women's Championship fight between Gina Carano and Cristiane Cyborg Santos is the biggest fight in women's MMA history and the first women's fight to be a main event on a North American men's MMA show, I am offering loyal readers my fight analysis. Up to now, the media's Beauty vs Beast viewpoint of this fight has been way too simplistic for me and it's the main reason why Cyborg is favoured to win. The biggest factor in this fight is that it is scheduled for five five minute rounds. That is uncharted territory for both of these women. Who will be better prepared to go the distance? Cyborg's fighting style is very typical of the fighters trained at Chute Boxe in Brazil. Have you ever watched her husband fight? They fight the same style, full steam ahead with a lot of aggression. This style could easily result in an early knockout. I have doubts that her ground game is as good as others think and she has never fought anyone as big and powerful as Gina. Because of her looks, Gina has been underestimated before every one of her fights. That's precisely what is happening with this fight and I expect Gina to do what she has done before because she uses this underestimation to motivate herself. Also, Gina is a superior Muay Thai technician and a very shrewd tactician. And Randy Couture has been supervising her training. You can be sure that Xtreme Couture has Gina well prepared to go the distance. She looked in great shape at yesterday's weigh-in. If Gina can withstand Cyborg's initial onslaught, there's a very good chance that Gina can tire her out by the fourth round. If I was a betting man (and I'm not), I'd put my money on Gina. What happens afterwards depends on how the fight goes. If it goes to the later rounds, I expect a rematch regardless of who wins. I don't believe that this fight is the be all or end all of women's MMA anyway. And I bet Erin Toughill doesn't believe that either. I just hope it's a great fight and these girls tear town the house as expected. Fans in the US can watch the show on Showtime. In Canada, it's available on PPV. It's going to cost me a few bucks but I have to buy it. I expect to recap the show and post match video tomorrow evening.
Cyborg's "full steam ahead with a lot of aggression" should suit Gina just fine.
ReplyDeleteCyborg will win this because she has more then just standup, if the ko dont get gina cyborg has some new tricks up her sleeve
ReplyDeleteIf it's early it's Cyborg, later it goes Gina. Hope it's a good fight to set Womens mma on fire.
ReplyDeletemike
I have always felt that Gina would not be able to stand up to Cyborg's aggressive intensity. Carno had a tough time with Kelly because she was so intense (Gina even said so). Of course I get boo'd with my oppinion. Cyborg is crazy strong and IS capable of throwing straight punches. She also doesn't let up. Way to go Cris!!
ReplyDeleteI wish Gina had at least tried! She said in one of these videos Frank's posted "If my head is right then everything else will fall into place". So I guess her head wasn't right. That was about the worst performance she could possibly have given. She didn't even try to hit Cyborg!
ReplyDelete