Women's Sports

Gina Carano (also here) defeated Tonya Evinger last night in a bout that was part of EliteXC's "Uprising" promotion. The fight was televised on Showtime.

Gina went into the fight the favorite, so the win itself wasn't a huge surprise. However, the way it came about might be another matter. Gina won by submission (her first win that way) against an opponent known for her grappling skills. While Gina is highly regarded as a striker, thanks to her background in Muay Thai, she doesn't have much wrestling experience. Gina handled herself well, though, after being taken down early on and even turned it to her advantage, using a choke hold to force Tonya to tap out at 2:53 of the first round.

The more I see of Gina the more impressed I am by her. She is the quintessence of the modern female athlete and an admirable role model for girls and young women. I even think she'd make a great Wonder Woman! It would be cool to have a real woman warrior-athlete playing the ultimate Amazon on the big screen—one can only imagine how thrilling that would be for young girls—and I actually think Gina could pull it off. (And yes, I realize Gina is not a trained actress; but I'll explain why she still merits serious consideration later when I post who my favorite Wonder Woman candidates are and why—which I promise to do soon.)

If you'd like to learn more about Gina, "Meet Gina Carano" will give you a feel for what makes her so special.