A Crushing Blow
by Vera H-C ChanMay 15, 2008
When news of the upcoming CBS mixed martial arts bout between Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young first hit the sportswire, some asked if mainstream America could handle a female MMA.
The country may not be ready for a female president, but bring on the girl fight. The Carano-Young May 31 bout will be the first MMA match ever seen on a mainstream network. Undefeated kickboxer Carano put a chokehold on the national spotlight as alter ego Crush on "American Gladiators." The NBC revival promptly established her as the Search favorite. Now Carano, who appeared on ESPN E:60 Tuesday, is the star fighter among boxing promoter EliteXC's plan to create a women's MMA title.
Her searches have roared up 6,000% this week into the top 200, with every single state in the union studying up. To put that into context, Carano's buzz is:
• about 19 times higher than what MMA icon Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell got for his high-profile beating last May
• 10% higher than Paris Hilton this week
• 25 times that of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards after his endorsement of Barack Obama.
People (89% male) have been clamoring for details on "mma gina carano" and "gina carano weigh in." (Okay, it's not all about prowess: "gina carano maxim," "gina carano myspace," "gina carano red dress," and "gina carano swimsuit pics" also score in Search.) Her opponent Young has engendered far less curiosity.
The CBS-EliteXC Saturday Night Fights series launches May 31 with the Carano-Young card. Looks like that will be boys' night in... and thanks to Carano's pioneering fists, a girls' night out in the MMA world.