NY Times 30 Seconds With Gina Carano: Busting Out of Her Shell

Posted by: Jen on July 25, 2009

Gina Carano said she had always been shy. That is not something you would expect to hear from a woman who makes her living in mixed martial arts. But Carano, a 27-year-old former American Gladiator, said she was at her most confident when training in muay Thai, her chosen fighting style, and learning to indulge her more feminine, less aggressive interests like manicures and pedicures. Audio of the interview with Carano is available at nytimes.com/sports.

Q: Tell us about your first fight.

A: My first fight was in San Francisco. I was 21. The ring wasn’t even up off the ground, it was over in the corner. And it was like 95 degrees in there — hot, sweaty, and there was like 400 people packed in there. It was definitely not legal. I didn’t really know what I was in for. I showed up and I ended up fighting a girl who was 12 pounds heavier and I was just like, ‘What am I doing?’ But after I fought her — I won — and I out-techniqued her even though she was larger than me and had more power than me.

Q: What’s your approach to fighting?

A: My strategy is always to get myself in the best shape possible and to surround myself with people who know what they’re talking about. And to study, like you would study anything. I think that in a lot of my fights, the reason I came out on top was because I had the better mind. I was able to keep a cool head.

Q: How are you preparing for your fight on Aug. 15 against Cristiane Santos?

A: When I originally started getting ready, I would write down everything I wanted to do — my boxing, my Jiu-Jitsu, my Muay Thai, my sparring, my strength and conditioning. And I had written out this little schedule, and it pretty much has me working out every single hour, all day long, kind of psychotically. So now I’ve tapered back to a really good workout in the morning and a really hard workout at night. That way, I have the middle of the day to relax and heal.

Q: What lessons do you take from mixed martial arts?

A: In my sport, what you realize when you walk into a gym is that not every guy who has a bald head, big tattoos and looks scary is really a bad guy. Every culture has a martial arts. And the U.S. is so diverse, it’s a way to bring everybody together.

Q: What are you doing when you’re not fighting or training?

A: I love to relax. I love to go to the beach. I love to go out to dinner and drink wine. I love being female. I’m really loving being female lately. When you’re in the gym every day and people are punching you in the face and it’s insane, you kind of just want to be held and treated like a lady.