Yes, she’s a beast in the MMA cage, even with her recent loss in a Strikeforce title fight with Cris Cyborg Santos last month. Yes, she’s undeniably gorgeous. But I’m gonna hold back judgment on whether sticking her in a Steven Soderbergh movie is going to be good or bad for women’s fighting.

Word is the new movie will be called “Knockout,” a spy-thriller with Carano as the troubled tough girl needing a second chance to prove herself. A sort of Eight Mile meets James Bond, channeling Charlie’s Angels? Hm. But it’s financed (Relativity media), scripted (Lem Dobbs), has distribution deals (Lionsgate), and is scheduled to begin production in January of 2010, so we’re surely going to find out.

It’s not Carano’s first brush with media by any means. She was in the documentary “Ring Girls,” NBC’s “American Gladiators,” and also played a part in the upcoming action film “Blood and Bone.” And of course her killer good looks have won her plenty of magazine acreage, not to mention press coverage. It’s not just her deadly Muy Thai skills that make people want to see her in a bikini.

I don’t know. I’m not opposed to her foray into big production movies, I’m just wondering if this will give people yet another chance to devalue the hard work and dedication it takes to make it as a professional female fighter. On the other hand, it could bring more attention to MMA as a sport with real celebrities and feminine role models.

Feel free to weigh in. What do you think?

Image credit: benyupp on Flickr

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View Original Post at theglowingedge.com

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• Boxing, MMA, Sports, SportsPLUS, Entertainment, Film

• Tags:
• sports
• women
• boxing
• mma
• films
• steven soderbergh