The Return of "Conviction"

On June 18th, Gina "Conviction" Carano is expected to make her Strikeforce return, facing off against Sarah D'Alelio. Carano has been out of the cage and missing in action for close to two years, with her last fight being in August of 2009, which resulted in a crushing first round loss to current champion Cyborg Santos.

Over the past two years, Carano, 7-1, has taken time off to pursue an acting career but has been back on an active training schedule since February. Although she is 0-1 in Strikeforce competition, Carano is arguably still the "face of Women's MMA, with champion caliber skills and matching credentials. But she is faced with a tough test as her opponent, D'Alelio, isn't a slouch by any means. D'Alelio is 4-1 in MMA competition, with 3 first round finishes, and is making her Strikeforce debut.

There have been some fans who are arguing the choice of opponent for Carano, claiming she should be facing a higher ranked challenger. I happen to disagree. Since she has had such a long layoff and convincingly lost to the champion in her last fight, Carano should have to work her way up the ladder once again. This fight will show if Carano to see if her days as the dominant face of Women's MMA are over or if she has a chance to reign supreme once again. It will also show if D'Alelio not only deserves to be in the cage with Carano but can be a threat to the Strikeforce championship. This fight has been generating a lot of interest in the MMA community because of Carano's return. Add this to the rising notoriety Carano is receiving through her film credentials and you have a lot of viewers tuning in on June 18th.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/23392/gina-carano-vs-sarah-dalelio-expected-at-strikeforce-overeem-vs-werdum.mma

Michael Trimarco
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