Randy Couture thought he had concocted the best gameplan for Gina Carano to defeat "Cyborg" Santos, but I guess he didn't factor in the sheer aggression that Santos brings to the cage. He spoke about the fight and what's next for Carano:
"The gameplan was to use her combinations and her footwork," said Couture of his strategy for Carano. "Stick and move and try to make Cyborg keep up with her and find her. Obviously, they ended up in a couple of firefights that she really didn’t need to be in, but it’s hard when somebody hits you, not to stand and try to hit them back. It’s understandable."
I agree, and he gives more thoughts on the fight:
"I think she had some opportunities to win," he said. "It was an amazing five minutes. They made a lot of transitions, a lot of positions, and I think Gina caught Cyborg with some shots that got her attention, and obviously Gina got overwhelmed on a couple of occasions, but I think overall, she did some great things.
"This is a new experience for her, and it’s an important one, and I expect she’s going to come out the other side a stronger and better athlete for what she’s going through right now."
I also agree here in that Carano had a couple of advantageous positions, but Santos either powered out or Carano let her back up. It's said that fighters always learn more from a loss than a win, so maybe that's the case with Carano. However, the following statement from Couture has me skeptical about if Carano really wants to be a fighter. Check it:
"I think she takes a week or so to recover, let the dust settle, and get together and figure out what her next move is," he said. "Who her next fight’s gonna be, when her next fight’s gonna be, and when she’s gonna get back into the training cycle."
Now, I understand that fighters need to take time to recover and get healed up etc etc. It's also common to have no idea of when you'll be fighting next and/or who you'll be fighting next. However, one should not question when training will resume after a loss. I understand this statement isn't from Carano herself, but it is her trainer speaking here. Is she really serious about MMA? I also read that he felt that her training for this fight wasn't exactly what he would have liked, in that she had a busy year and not enough time for any extra training. I suppose we'll see what's up with her in the next couple of months or so. I would think Strikeforce would like to build her back up, so getting her back in the cage as soon as possible would be in their best interest. A re-match would be money for them, because although it seemed as if Santos dominated her, Carano did have a couple of shining moments.
HT: MMAWeekly
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