One beating for Gina Carano was enough. She doesn’t need — or deserve — to be pounded on by cranky bloggers and media types for declining to be interviewed following her loss to Cris “Cyborg” Santos at Saturday night’s Strikeforce event.
Steve Cofield of Yahoo! was among those embittered by not getting to hear from the woman to whom he and the rest of the MMA media had devoted so much ink (so many bytes?) in the buildup to the momentous fight. He didn’t appreciate being left with unanswered questions, such as:
We still don’t know if she was angry that the fight was stopped with one second left in the first round. Or if she felt she was winning the round. Or if she’s planning on coming back soon. Does she want a rematch? Did the pressure get to her? Can she ever beat Cristian “Cyborg” Santos?
Good questions, all. But I’m with Sherdog’s Jake Rossen, who doesn’t see the point in sticking a microphone in front of Carano, Forrest Griffin or any other “freshly mauled” fighter who is “hopped up on adrenaline and choking on their own blood and snot.” Nice image by Jake, who adds:
I’m anxious to hear both Griffin and Carano verbalize their nights, but having some distance and reduction of blood pressure is probably good for a more comprehensible recollection. Being made to stand at attention and reassemble neurons two minutes after a beating isn’t going to result in any motivational speaking offers.
So true. But I have a bigger disagreement with Cofield and others who have suggested that Carano was being unsportsmanlike by not answering to the media. Nonsense. It would have been unsportsmanlike had Carano pulled a Forrest Griffin and not congratulated her conqueror . . . but Gina went right over to Cyborg after the fight and embraced her, then led the applause as referee Josh Rosenthal was raising the winner’s hand. And Cyborg was the only person in the arena to whom Gina Carano owed a thing after the fight. Not the bloggers or reporters. Not Strikeforce or Showtime. Not even the fans watching in San Jose or at home on TV. She’d already paid MMA fans the utmost respect by giving her all for 4:59 of furious fighting.
Photo courtesy of Strikeforce
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Jeff Wagenheim
Jeff Wagenheim spent more than 20 years as an editor for the Boston Globe sports pages and now writes about mixed martial arts and college football for ESPNBoston.com. He also writes arts features for The Globe and spent several years writing for the parenting ...
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Shawn says:
Thank you Jeff. You've said what needs to be said. The only thing that can possibly be "positively" gained by sticking a mic in an athlete's face is to stir up trouble. Hell, you can expect a less than polite response from any pationate athlete... even a bowler, after losing an emotional battle. NASCAR drivers are the same. I know I am reaching here, but I have competed in many sports and at many levels, one day I can handle it, most times I want no part of. Shawn
Krizz says:
I completely agree with you. I was at that fight and i dont see how Gina could have shown any more respect. Gina already had so much respect for Santos before the fight. she knew that it was going to be a challenge, and it obviously was. It was the most emotion I have ever seen in an arena filled with fans other than the japanese fans in a K-1 match in Tokyo. Gina and Chris are both amazing women and fighters. Santos was being boo'd most of the fight and even after her win. Instead of acting like the meat head brock lesnar on ufc, she bowed and thanked the arena, then came around and signed autographs. I can only hope, as a female fighter myself, that i can carry myself with the dignity and grace that both of those ladies did on august 15 2009.
Gina Fan says:
I agree she had great sportmanship..she congratulated Cyborg and applauded her..what more do people want??? All u Gina Carano haters needa leave her alone..
Billy says:
I don't understand the rush in hearing from carano. She'll talk to the media eventually, let her figure out what she wants to do. She did a good job in the stand up part of the fight. From what I understand it was her first fight in a long time and its to bad she got tired 3/4's of the way through the first round but she was just got overpowered at that point. Cyborg looked much stronger then her. Carano just needs to improve and I'm she'll be back to fight Cyborg again.
CynCity says:
Finally!! Someone who see's that Gina does not need to answer questions after such a loss that was such a big impact on her. What people need to be focusing on is the fact that there is a first time ever Womens MMA Champion now and how it got there. Alot with Gina Carano breaking barriers to make it happen. She was humble at the end. Embraced Cyborg, congratulated her and applauded. Doesn't mean she has to stick around and kiss but or answer questions. She did her thing and well it was time for her to go have her own time. People just need to back off of Gina. Secondly, it was quite rude of Frank Shamrock when he was interviewed. Two face jerk. He had supported Gina Carano through out her career, flirting with her too! Then now? He smugly said' She got her ass handed to her' And laughed about it. This coming from the guy who got his own ass handed to him by Nick Diaz. All and about when it comes to it. Every great one must fall a time or two. There will always be someone bigger and better, but you just need to get up and dust yourself off and do it again. Gina is a true fighter. She has the heart. She will come back. People just need to chill out and let her do her thing. Much love to you Gina.
Simon Cowell's Underpants says:
Cofield, and all of the Yahoo writers, are UFC stooges.
Nick says:
I fully agree with you,Jeff-Gina carano was gracious in embracing cris cyborg and was a complete sportsman after the fight-That title and match up happened because of the awareness she brought to female MMA and she has nothing to be ashamed of-They will both have excellent careers in MMA-There is no doubt in my mind that gina will hold that title eventually-look at all she's accomplished at such a young age and with under 10 pro fights in the United States.a post fight interview is not mandatory and anyone who thinks that was unsportsmanlike conduct needs to step in the cage and see if they can give a coherent interview after a tough couple of rounds,a good example is julie kedzie's interview after her fight with gina.no one remains undefeated in fight sports and it seems to me people are picking on her because she is held in high regard by mma fans-she is human and now you know that.Gina carano knew that cris cyborg was going to be a tough fight after witnessing shayna baszler's fight against her and she took the fight-She ducks no challengers and cris cyborg thanked her for the opportunity,Both fighters were gracious and respectful to the fans and each other-they are true warriors-good luck to them both and to the naysayers,Keep your negativity to yourselves.
Thank you,Nick
Jim Stoddard says:
Carano did the most sports"man" like thing a star in defeat can do...let the winner get 100% of the spotlight. If you watch her actions after the loss, she congratulated Cyborg multiple times and stepped out of the light...even the pic in this article shows her clapping continuously for the woman who beat her. There's plenty of post-fight stories that will come out, nothing wrong with Gina letting Santos enjoy all of the attention she deserved for beating her.
Julie says:
Well said! At least Gina quietly stepped away to lick her wounds and repair her pride. These guys just lash out at her for damaging theirs. What no one has mentioned is that her absence from the after fight press conference actually allowed Santos to have "her moment" (even though we didn't really hear much about it!) Had Gina been there, it would've been the typical Gina feeding frenzy and Santos and her accomplishment would have been all but ignored. I don't believe she's being a poor sport and her "fans" don't believe for a second that she's turned her back on them or her sport! When she's composed herself she'll be back - hopefully stronger for the experience.
Katrina says:
Totally, unequivocally, right-on. Thanks!
Carli says:
I really don't understand why people are going on about this. Gina was anything but unsportsmanlike. She immediately congratulated Cyborg, went all around the ring hugging Cyborg's people, even telling one of them, "She's the best. She's the best." And like you said, she even started the clapping when Cyborg was announced as the winner. So what if she didn't want to stick around for an interview. What in the world do these people want her to say. "Uh ya, I got my ass beat. Sucks for me." I'd rather hear from her later on, when she's had time to think about what happened, what went wrong, etc. Frankly, I was sort of surprised she was able to stand up. Heck, I didn't even stay for Cyborg's interview either.
The Mighty Kat says:
Hear, hear! Well stated and sadly, needed. Can we please print this piece on the side of a semi and drive it around the country?
iscream says:
Yes, Gina is not Fedor. We didn't expect her to give a rundown of every mistake made in the cage, while sitting in locker room with surgeon treating cuts all over her head.
But even a youtube home video with "Hi, this is Gina. Yes, I'm upset, but I'll be alright" -- a trivial message to the fans would go a long way. Surprisingly, some fans don't go there to see someone "mauled" in public, but for the show of spirit, character and good sportsmanship. Dealing with defeat is part of the show, and the part that shows the best in a fighter. Or the worst.