Gina Carano's journey to MMA stardom didn't begin with a dream of fighting. It started with a desire to get in shape. Her path from weight concerns to a Muay Thai gym would ultimately redefine her career.

Carano began her Muay Thai training at 21 at the insistence of her then-boyfriend, now-husband Kevin Ross, a renowned Muay Thai trainer. In an interview with MMANews.com, Carano revealed, "I really didn’t know I was going to be into it, I just went to get in shape."

At the time, she weighed around 175 lbs and had no intention of becoming a professional fighter. After an instructor told her to lose weight first, she trained and lowered her weight to 145 lbs, ultimately becoming one of the best fighters in this weight class.

Her Muay Thai record stood at an impressive 12-1-1 which ultimately led her to MMA. Her first match was against Rosi Sexton, and she won that match in just 38 seconds. Her MMA streak was 7-0 until her last match with Cristiane 'Cyborg' Santos, in 2009, which unfortunately she lost.

The Carano vs Cyborg fight was the first women's MMA fight to headline an event. Since that loss, Carano hasn't stepped into the octagon. But that was until her fight with another women's MMA legend, Ronda Rousey, was announced.

The fight is set to take place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood (Los Angeles), California, and will be broadcast on Netflix on May 16. The fight made Carano walk into the gym again and brush up on her Muay Thai skills, which, according to her, hasn't been easy.

Gina Carano's return to Muay Thai training

In a recent appearance on the Jaxxon podcast, the MMA star recounted how badly her health had declined in 2024, and how getting back to training saved her life.

"The amount of weight I've lost and uh, that's where my health was at, my blood work. I was pre-diabetic. I was hurting. It hurt to walk in September 2024. My knees, my ankles, everything hurt so much cuz I'd put so much weight."

After encouragement from her husband, Gina returned to the gym, resumed her MMA training, and lost a significant amount of weight. Her goal is to hold a dumbbell of the same weight as she lost and display it on the day of her weigh-in for the May 16 fight as a symbol of her success.

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil