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Courtesy Sherdog

I very rarely get sentimental about a fight so much that I need to write about it, but this one in particular started what has become my five year run as a reporter for WMMA.

Five years ago today, Gina Carano faced Kelly Kobold in what was an epic battle on the last EliteXC card ever. The fight was a bit overshadowed by Kimbo Slice being knocked out by Seth Petrazelli, but in my mind, the fight will always be one of my favorites.

A little backstory of how my WMMA journey started. For those who don’t know, my first ever interview was with Kaitlin Young on my entertainment podcast (the podcast is still going by the way). I become a fan of female fighting, and back in those days the fights were few and far between. A fellow podcaster Frank Ramirez and myself got to talking about the fight with Young and Gina Carano. So we decided we’d try to get Carano on to talk about her upcoming fight against Kelly Kobold on his podcast “Sports Geeks”. We also decided to get Kobold on.

It was my only interview with Carano, and she definitely was sweet and intelligent. Kobold was also great with her stories of the wars she was a part of. They got us excited to watch the match to say the least.

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The match aired on national TV on CBS, and it didn’t disappoint.

The crowd was heavily supporting Carano, with Kobold pretty much shrugging off the boos in her direction. In attendance looking on was Cris Cyborg, who would most likely face the winner. This was back in the day when the women fought three minute rounds.

The referee, Troy Waugh, gave the instructions and said something that would be a moniker for the women’s divisions for a long time:

 ”(Let’s) show the world what women’s MMA is all about.”

Round 1

Carano hits Kobold a right hook, with Kobold immediately working the clinch game. The eventually work off the cage and start to exchange strikes. Carano is getting the cleaner shots and cuts Kobold open. Kobold tries for a takedown, but Carano defends. The two start exchanging wildly as the round ends.

Round 2

Carano opens up her combinations and lands a knee that rocks Kobold. (Kobold had told us in a later interview that she didn’t remember the rest of the fight, as she was fighting on instinct.) Kobold goes back to the clinch game, uses her knees on Carano. The two exchange wildly again. Kobold tries for a takedown but is stuffed.

Carano works her was off the fence and the two slow down a bit, with Carano land straight punches to Kobold. Kobold is staying strong with Carano using her boxing. (Mauro Ranallo compared Carano to Floyd Mayweather in that instance.) Kobold pushes forward and bloodies Carano’s mouth. Kobold gets the takedown and gets some ground and pound as the bell ends the round.

Round 3

Kobold quickly clinches with Carano and tries for the takedown. Kobold starts to foot stomp Carano. The referee breaks it up and Kobold charges forward. Carano lands two knees. Kobold again tries for the takedown. Carano tries for a standing rear naked choke, but Kobold turns into Carano forcing her to releases it.

The work off they fence. Carano lands a front kick to the body. Carano lands a body kick and head kick and Kobold is still standing as the fight ends. The crowd stands up and cheers.

Carano would take the fight by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).

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What I took away from the fight is it was non-stop action. The striking of Carano and toughness of Kobold would become a signature of many female fighters to come.

It was soon after the fight that Sportgeeks had a female fighter on weekly, and as a result, I started to cover the women’s divisions for Fightergirls. This began my career covering the sport.

Since then Carano has become a movie star and has semi-retired from the sport. Kobold continued her sports career in the lingerie football league, but has since retired from the league. We were supposed to see her fight at InvictaFC 2, but she pulled out due to an injury. I am personally hoping she considers making a comeback to MMA.

I have launched Wombat Sports and my own podcast since the fight five years ago. I have seen the sport grow these past five years from a pro bout every few months and two or three divisions to five solid divisions and female fighters in the UFC.

WMMA has come a long way baby.

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This post is related to an ongoing story:

• MMA: The Women are Here to Stay

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