I ran across a sweet interview with Gina Carano conducted by video game blogger Matthew Hawkins at Fort90.com.

It’s a good read where Gina talks about her upcoming appearance in the video game Red Alert 3, American Gladiators as well as fighting Christiane Cyborg.

Check out the Gina Carano interview

You know, Elite XC made a lot of bad moves during their run, but the promotion of Carano vs. Cyborg wasn’t one of them.

Typically, I don’t care a lick about women’s MMA, but I was really looking forward to that one. Elite XC did great work by making Gina the face of women’s MMA - and also did a solid job of turning Cyborg into a wrecking machine set to brutalize Carano.

Many said that the company should have pulled the trigger on the fight sooner, but the slow build was letting the casual fans get to know the women better and giving their eventual showdown some “big fight” buzz.

Of course, seeing as how Pro Elite tanked this week, it may have been smarter to have had it earlier – but hindsight 20/20 and all.

Anyway, I’m sure this fight is happening regardless – probably at Afflcition’s January show – so its all good… And guys, you better enjoy that pretty face while you can, because Gina won’t be looking so hot after my girl Cyborg gets done with her.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

Apparently, KJ Noons thinks hes a free agent and EliteXC thinks otherwise.

Whatever.

You know what I don’t get in all of this: who does K.J. Noons think he is?

Did GSP complain when he was signed to fight B.J. despite the fact that Penn didn’t deserve the fight? No. Did Anderson piss and moan when the rematch with Rich Franklin was signed for Cincinnati? Of course not. They go and fight whoever the UFC puts in front of them - and these are two of the top three fighters in the world.

Meanwhile, K.J. Noons becomes lightweight champion of Elite freaking XC and thinks he can pick his opponents. This is the same guy who got KO’d by Krazy Horse in 07.

Even if Diaz didn’t deserve a shot, why couldn’t he just fight him for the good of the company? Outside of Carano and Kimbo, the feud was the biggest thing EliteXC had going. Be a team player and take the fight, Noons. Shit, he has said he would beat Diaz in a rematch - least he could have done was prove it.

Personally, I’m not losing any sleep over not seeing Noons anytime soon. Bring on Diaz vs. Alvarez.

I have a new column up at MMArated.com dealing with upsets that the UFC was not happy with ala EliteXC on Saturday.

Check it out.

Only a few days away so let’s throw out some predictions…

Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock

Good Lord, this is going to be brutal. Shamrock has nothing left in his tank. There is no way he gets this to the ground and even if he did I doubt he could submit Kimbo. If you have a problem watching washed-up one-time pioneers get brutalized, you may want to skip this one.

Kimbo, TKO, Rd.1

Jake Shields vs. Paul Daley

This is a clear-cut striker vs. grappler and the grappler will come away with a quick win. Shields is good enough on his feet to not get caught with anything and will be able to take Daley to the ground early. I wish Jake would get a chance to fight the big boys over in the UFC one of these days.

Shields, sub, Rd. 1

Andre Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson

This was a nice addition to the card as Arlovski offers some serious name value. Too bad we won’t be seeing more than 2 minutes of him. Nelson is a decent journeyman but is way out of his league here. The Pitbull is going to end this one early.

Arlovski, TKO, Rd. 1

Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobold-Gavin

Gina will win this impressively. I have nothing else to add, but you all better enjoy Carano’s pretty face now because it won’t be looking too good once she steps in there with my girl Cyborg.

Carano, TKO, Rd. 2

Murilo Rua vs. Benji Radach

This will probably be the most competitive fight on the card. I think Rua has a bit too much class for Benji and will eventually work a takedown followed by a submission.

Rua, sub, Rd. 2

Favorites across the board - exciting, I know.

Enjoy the show…

So apparently there is the second installment of EliteXC on CBS this weekend. Who knew?

I can’t say I’m surprised at the lack of buzz given the jam-packed weekend we just had that saw three great events and two of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters. Plus, there is no Kimbo on this EliteXC — so you really have to question if it’s even worth watching.

Lack of Kimbo aside, I will be in front of a TV Saturday just so I can see Lawler/Smith 2.

This was EliteXC’s chance to really hit a home run on their first CBS show. The storyline was great: Lawler stalks Smith and appears to be ready to end things at any second. Smith eats every shot though and keeps coming at Lawler, at times hurting the champ and causing him to retreat. Towards the end its a full-out brawl with each fighter teeing off on the other. Then an accidental eye-poke ends things in controversial fashion since the fight is called without giving Scott a full five minutes to recover.

It was such a shame — that fight was building into a classic.

I expect the re-match to be just as exciting and this time we will get a winner.

Lawler is the more technical of the two and probably has the power advantage. Smith has the heart though, and can take a punch as well as deliver a KO blow.

I predict fireworks, but in the end Scumbag Robbie Lawler takes it. Lawler TKO Rd. 3