What’s The Point Of Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano?
The talks surrounding Ronda Rousey’s next opponent have been growing by the day; A potential clash with long-time rival Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino was shot down by UFC president Dana White, as was a clash with former boxing champion and MMA striker Holly Holm, but a bout against Gina Carano is still a possibility.
Judging by all the chatter about fights with Carano, Holm and Cyborg, you might think there wasn’t any competition for ‘Rowdy’ in the UFC. Well, the top five of the division tells a story of it’s own; #1 Cat Zingano is in limbo with an injury, Sarah Kaufman, Miesha Tate and Sara McMann have all lot to Rousey (at least once), meaning Alexis Davis is the only real contender in the top five right now.
That being said, Davis already has two losses to Sarah Kaufman and after the top five the division looks a little weak right now. So with the UFC set to hold talks with Gina Carano next week, are they holding out on the Rousey ‘announcement’ because they don’t have a fight they can sell? Carano stepped away from the sport after her only loss as a pro.
‘Crush’ got squashed by Cris Justino in 2009 and has since been making her name in Hollywood ever since. Apart from having a fight they can sell to the masses, why make Carano vs. Rousey? The truth is, that fight would be a terrible mismatch, and there probably aren’t many fans that would put money on Carano.
Perhaps the Carano fight is just a filler while the weight class is short on talent, or maybe the thought of selling two female superstars is just too big for Dana White to ignore. Another point to consider is that Carano fought back when there wasn’t much competition for WMMA stars, and her biggest wins were over Rosi Sexton, Julie Kedzie, Tonya Evinger and Kaitlin Young.
Her biggest fight to date was the bout with Cyborg, and she didn’t survive the opening round. I don’t know if Carano can hang with the top five right now, especially after five years out, let alone put on a competitive fight against the (arguably) best female MMA fighter of all time. Does Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano make sense? No, does that mean it won’t happen? Absolutely not.
