On October 3, 2008 Gina Carano was struggling to make weight once again. In a way that only she can, she managed to turn a simple weigh in into a media circus. Cameras flashed and camcorders rolled as her naked body was obscured by nothing but her father holding a towel. On the next night’s EliteXC card Carano once again “stole the show” by defeating a fighter, Kelly Kobold, who coming off back to back losses.
Somewhere Tara LaRosa had to be chomping at the bit.
It seems as if the entire nation has fallen in love with Carano. Many fans even proclaim that she is the best female fighter in MMA. While she has been receiving fan fare and titles like “the face of women’s MMA,” Tara LaRosa has been waiting in the wings.
Tonight (Friday) she returns to the ring as a part of Extreme Challenge’s War at the Shore card. She will be taking on Alexis Davis. It will be her first action in over a year and you can watch the entire event live right here at PRO MMA (http://promma.info) via live webcast starting at 6:30pm CST/4:30pm PST. Undefeated EliteXC Bantamweight Champion, Wilson Reis will also be on the card.
Back in June LaRosa signed a reportedly record breaking contract with the AFL. The promotion claimed to have big time plans, but has yet to put on a card. The AFL’s inability to promote has left LaRosa out of action since November of 2007.
Before her layoff, LaRosa was at the top of her game. She came into the Bodog Fight promotion sporting a 10-1 record and continued to impress. LaRosa was able to finish Amanda Buckner, Julia Berezikova, and Shayna Bazler before submitting Kelly Kobold to win the promotion’s 135 lbs title. After that she went on to defeat HookNShoot’s 125 lbs champion Cody Welchin.
In addition to her success in the ring, Larosa has also excelled on the grappling mats. She is a nine-time North American Grappling Association champion. In 2007 she won a Fila world submission grappling gold medal at the world wrestling games in Turkey.
Despite her impressive resume she is not nearly as well known as Carano, and it may remain that way. Sadly, with EliteXC out of the picture there does not seem to be a serious outlet for female MMA. Let’s hope that another promotion comes along and gives LaRosa the shot that she has earned. Hopefully then she won’t only be known as the female fighter Gina Carano thinks looks most like a man.