GINA CARANO FORCED OUT OF JUNE 18th STRIKEFORCE FIGHT

Posted on | June 7, 2011 | 1 Comment

By: Rich Bergeron

During a conference call Tuesday, June 7th Strikeforce’s CEO Scott Coker announced that Gina Carano would have to pull out of her June 18th fight with Sarah D’Alelio due to medical clearance issues. Though the details have yet to be disclosed, it seems to be related to Carano’s failure to gain medical clearance for the contest. It is not clear if an alternate opponent will fight in her place at this point and Carano issued a brief statement attesting to her frustration over not being able to fight.

Known to many in the meainstream combat sports media as well as among her fans as the face of women’s MMA, Carano’s fight cancellation is sure to ruffle some feathers and lead to questions about what caused it. Carano’s been out of the MMA spotlight and away from the cage since losing badly to Cristiane Santos nearly two years ago in her second appearance on a Strikeforce card. The loss left her record at 7-1 and remains as the only defeat in her fighting career.

Carano’s notoriety led her to stardom in other circles outside the cage, and depending on the severity of the reasons for her lack of medical clearance she might end up doing much more work in those realms during her continued absence from the sport of MMA. UFC President and Minority Owner Dana White’s outspoken opinions have been very discouraging when it comes to women’s MMA as it is. Without Carano’s star power adding more appeal to the future of women fighting under the Zuffa banner, it’s going to be a huge uphill battle for the rest of the women under contract by Strikeforce to gain respect and recognition. As soon as we hear more on this subject, we’ll provide a follow up report.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE FULL STRIKEFORCE CONFERENCE CALL FEATURING SCOTT COKER’S ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING CARANO AS WELL AS A Q&A SESSION WITH JUNE 18th STRIKEFORCE HEADLINERS FABRICIO WERDUM AND ALISTAIR OVEREEM.

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