Strikeforce has released never before seen photos of Gina during a photo shoot. Check em out!

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Gina secured #9 on the list. For the rest of the top 10 visit Sherdog.com

9. Gina Carano (2007-Present)

Not women’s MMA, but Gina Carano. An important distinction.

Prior to Carano’s EliteXC debut in 2007, the idea of hosting female fighters was seen as too absurdly progressive for a sport that still nauseated a good portion of mass media. If they couldn’t accept men exchanging blood, observers figured, seeing a woman mounted and pummeled might be cause for a defibrillator.

“Conviction” — the daughter of football great Glen Carano — rejected that sexist attitude not by challenging it, but by ignoring it. She conducted herself as a fighter, displaying sharp skills in the ring and presenting herself as an articulate personality outside of it. Her looks? Absolutely a factor, but curiosity would’ve quickly given way to disgust if she had nothing to offer as an athlete.

It’s rare for any sports figure to have the weight of an entire genre on their shoulders. Even Ali, in rewriting boxing’s history, was still toiling in an institution that had a past before him and would have a future after him. But try to find even one piece about the females of the sport without a mention of Carano. She didn’t just define a division: She was the division.

Sources close to the project have confirmed to The Playlist that the principal cast members supporting Carano include Michael Fassbender (“Inglourious Basterds,” “Hunger”), Ewan McGregor, Dennis Quaid, Michael Douglas, Channing Tatum and in current talks to join the cast, Antonio Banderas.

continued below (includes plot and character info)

However, it looks like the original concept, — a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who is given a second chance to use her skills for constructive purposes — having gone through the gestation/inception stage was eventually rethought and cast aside (both filmmaker and writer felt that it had “been done”).

Ultimately, “Knockout” is now more of a revenge action-spy thriller. Essentially it’s hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and especially one who kicks serious ass. Double crossed by someone on her own team, Mallory Kane (Carano)— a black ops super soldier — seeks to uncover who has set her up to take the fall for a job that goes bad and involves a murder.

The male actors are all part of Carano’s special forces team. Douglas plays a government figure not unlike Chris Cooper or Brian Cox from the ‘Bourne’ movies. Fassbender and one other actor who has yet to sign-on officially (we’ve been asked not to say who because it’s not 100% confirmed, but the actor is male and a fairly big name; though it’s possible scheduling conflicts may prevent him from participating) play members of her commando spy unit, and one of these two plays the central antagonist that betrays Carano’s character (this is still being kept under wraps for now). McGregor’s role is that of the owner/guy who runs a Blackwater private military company-type group that the female fighting champion is a part of (and apparently many of the males take a beating at the hands of Carano). And as noted, Carano’s Kane character is no longer a girl from the “wrong side of the tracks,” she now has a solid background and was raised around military honor and academia. She leaves the military to go to work for a Blackwater-esque company to make better money and then is eventually betrayed by one of her teammates….

Both Douglas and Quaid have worked with Soderbergh before in his Academy Award-winning 2000 film, “Traffic” and Douglas is set to star in the filmmaker’s “Liberace” film if that happens according to plan this summer. Fassbender is the quickly rising, in-demand actor that everyone wants to work with (Tarantino, et. al) and the director is certainly one of those people — Fassbender’s role was written with the actor in mind.

And Soderbergh has been circling McGregor for some time now. The “Trainspotting” actor was originally pegged to have a role in the ‘Ocean’s’ films, but his commitments to Lucas’ “Star Wars” prequels unfortunately precluded his participation.

“Knockout” — it’s still officially a working title, but now we’re told that people are warming up to the name and that it might eventually stick — was written by Lem Dobbs, the screenwriter behind Soderbergh’s “Kafka” and “The Limey” also well-known for his contentious (and hilariously candid) DVD-commentary arguments with the director (“The Limey” commentary is like two friends with the gloves off and an amusing must-listen).

The director has previously said the film will take elements from “La Femme Nikita,” the ‘Bourne’ films, the Bond Film “From Russia with Love” and John Boorman’s 1967 crime film “Point Blank,” starring Lee Marvin (which is known as the slightly arty, thinking man’s, tough guy picture). But he’s also noted that the action will be distinctinly different than the Greengrass vibe evinced in his ‘Bourne’ films. As reported last year, David Holmes, the composer behind Soderbergh’s “Oceans 11-13″ series, not to mention the brisk and funky “Out Of Sight” film, will be writing the score.

Soderbergh’s deal for “Knockout” through Relativity Media and Lionsgate is a typically unique one for the adventurous filmmaker. He will be paid no upfront fee for directing the film, but eventually will retain full ownership of the film once its released. It’s a bold and unprecedented move. Having just finished up his media-saturation play “Tot Mom” in Australia, Soderbergh is now in New Mexico doing scouting for his February production start date expected to shoot there, Ireland and Turkey among other possible locations.

Carano has been training in L.A. for two months and test fight footage has already been shot (she’s already accidentally knocked out one stunt coordinator in practice sessions… no, really). Lionsgate is eyeing an August release. Producers on the project include Relativity Media’s Ryan Kavanaugh, Soderbergh’s longtime cohort Gregory Jacobs, and Tucker Tooley as an executive producer.

*update 01/10

Channing Tatum has joined the cast of Steven Soderbergh’s action-revenge spy thriller “Knockout” which will star Mixed Martial Arts champion and non-actor Gina Carano in the lead role of a black ops spy that is betrayed by her team. Meanwhile, a last minute addition to the cast is in the works. Antonio Banderas is in talks to join the cast playing the head of a Black-ops European unit. Last Thursday, The Playlist revealed that: Michael Douglas, Dennis Quaid, Ewan McGregor and Michael Fassbender (“Inglourious Basterds,” “Hunger”) had all joined the cast in supporting roles.

Tatum will play one of the elite specialists on Carano’s team named Aaron — a military gearhead-type who’s sent to try and bring her back in once she’s been double-crossed and gone rogue; trying to figure out who exactly is setting her up. But there is no love lost between the characters which makes his mission more difficult. But we’re told the role is actually relatively small in the scope of things.

While everyone is on the same side initially, “Knockout” features a lot of duplicity, double crosses and even reversals of allegiances. Fassbender plays an untrustworthy teammate, Douglas ultimately proves to be an ally and McGregor, the owner of the Blackwater-type special ops team (and once a romantic interest to the lead) is instrumental in trying to make Carano’s character, Mallory Kane take the fall for an incident that goes wrong and involves a murder. Dennis Quaid plays her father.

Tatum might seem like an odd choice with that cast — initially — but it’s a fight film as much as it is a realistic spy/action film and he obviously has experience in that field. The “G.I. Joe” actor actually relentlessly pursued this project and after working with Kevin MacDonald on “The Eagle of the Ninth,” and it appears he’s eager to work with strong filmmaking talents.

Anecdotally, “Knockout” went out to several key action male stars, but several of them were not very comfortable in a supporting role where a woman beats them senseless. Tatum will likely shoot his role in two or three weeks and then be whisked off to start production on Dito Montiel’s “Son of No One” starring Robert Deniro in March (if everything goes according to plan on that particular project). Montiel directed Tatum in the 2009 film, “Fighting” and “A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints.”

David Holmes, the composer behind Soderbergh’s “Oceans 11-13″ series and “Out of Sight” will be writing the score. It’ll be interesting to see what he comes up with. Spy films aren’t exactly known for their funky scores, that is unless he’s going for a ’70s Bond vibe (which would be pretty fresh).

Soderbergh is currently location scouting as we speak and Turkey is now officially off the locale plan due to poor tax incentives. The film will now be primarily shot in Barcelona, Dublin and New Mexico. The picture is set to start shooting in February and Lionsgate hopes to have the film in theaters for August. That seems fast, but the filmmaker is rather notorious for the speed in which he shoots and edits. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, making this date is definitely feasible.

source: The Playlist
credit: Amber Rae & Scotty

“She’s a cagefighter. She’s this Muaythai expert amazing fighter, and very very pretty too. I checked her out on YouTube, and it’s like, holy sh*t.“

source: Cinemablend.com
credit: Amber Rae

The face of women’s MMA may not be back until summer 2010, according to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. Gina Carano, 27, is currently shooting a starring role in the Stephen Soderbergh-helmed film “Knockout.” She reportedly plays a fighter who’s hired by the government to become a spy. When asked for an update on when Carano would return to the Strikeforce cage, Coker said,

“that’s a good question.” “Her agent and I have been in dialogue,” he added. “We had talked about having her fight again, but not fighting on Dec. 19. She’s going to acting classes, I heard, and doing a lot of weapons training, doing what they do.”

The Strikeforce executive has followed this route before. The promotion’s other crossover star, Cung Le, relinquished his middleweight title in September when a blossoming movie career overtook his fighting responsibilities. Le will return to the cage on Dec. 19 after a 21-month absence. Coker said he wanted to meet with Carano before making any decisions on how to manage the situation.

“I’d like to sit down with her face-to-face probably in the next 30 days or so, and sit down and see where her head’s at,” he said. “By all means, we would love to have her back, and we would love to have her fight again. I think in her heart she’s still a fighter.”

Amid much fanfare, Carano lost her Strikeforce debut in August, falling prey to Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos in a bout for the newly created 145-pound divisional women’s title. She went into virtual seclusion afterwards, offering but one comment on the loss.

“I know I am a better fighter than the way I performed that night and was heartbroken to not give more to those who have been inspired,” she wrote in a prepared statement. “However, I find some relief in knowing that this has never been only about me, and now more than ever I feel freedom to learn and grow at my own pace.” (click for more)

Regulars at Xtreme Couture, where she logged most of her training hours, say she’s been MIA since the fight. One of Carano’s chief trainers, Chris Ben-Tchavtchavadze, said Monday that she had been living in San Diego with family and hadn’t spoken of a return. He said the spotlight of her last fight overwhelmed her and she needed to get her mind in the right place for a return.

“She went out and fought Cyborg’s fight,” he said. “If she fought her fight, it would be a different story.”

For those expecting Carano to surface post-movie, Coker had a very conservative timetable.

“What her representatives are saying is something in the summertime,” he said.

source: MMAweekly

Win a trip to meet MMA Superstar Gina Carano as she prepares for her film debut.
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-or send a postcard with your name, e-mail address, mailing address, and telephone number to Win a Trip to Meet Gina Carano Sweepstakes, RML Jackson, LLC, 8899 Beverly Blvd., Suite 510, West Hollywood, CA 90048. Limit one (1) entry per Registered User or e-mail address for the duration of the Entry Period.

One potential winner will be selected in a random drawing from all eligible entries received/postmarked by 5:00 p.m. PT on December 13, 2009.

complete rules

source: I Am Rogue – Brothers Sweepstakes

Since her loss in August, Gina Carano has been virtually silent. She is expected to return to Strikeforce in the summer, after she finishes filming Steven Soderbergh’s new movie. Though many have dismissed her following her disappointing performance, she is still a ratings powerhouse and a critical component of Strikeforce. It’s almost become expected that every time she fights she will set some kind of ratings record.

All eyes are on the numbers Strikeforce pulls this weekend. I don’t expect them to do blow away numbers, nor do I expect them to bomb. I expect them to come in somewhere in the middle; perhaps something like a 2.3 household rating. That’s the kind of number that could earn them another show, but won’t have CBS executives jumping up and down for joy. If I’m correct, CBS and Strikeforce will be begging Carano to return on CBS in the summer.

Despite a large increase in salary, Carano is still underpaid. She’s the only media lightning rod in Strikeforce, and she delivers where it counts. Strikeforce is paying Fedor significantly more than Gina, but it remains a question whether or not he is actually a bigger draw. If Fedor bombs this weekend, Carano will find herself in an even stronger negotiating position.

Source: Bloodyelbow

We’ve all been left wondering when is Gina gonna fight again? Well, that question was answered in an interview with Scott Coker from The MMA Hour.

Coker suggested that she will return to action around late second quarter which means early summer. I know most are eager to see her get back into action, but first she will start shooting her role in Steven Soderbergh movie, Knockout. Gina is determined to stay within the 145lb woman’s division when she returns. Stay tuned for more on her comeback.

Check out the hot gallery and the GREAT work that Dale Shirley captured of Gina during the Strikeforce PPV against Cyborg. The work is amazing and great shots. If you get a moment, check out the website at Dale Shirley. It’s great. Here is the gallery and a few shots…