Beauty vs. the Beast

Tuesday’s Strikeforce press conference featuring Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos was purely a publicity stunt. Nothing of interest was said, nothing of consequence happened, and for once I don’t mind a bit. Women’s MMA needs all the attention it can get.

Carano (7-0) and Cyborg (7-1), who will face each other for the women’s 145-pound title on a stacked Strikeforce card Aug. 15, answered a few softball questions inside Madison Square Garden in Manhattan and then headed outside to put on a little demonstration, Carano hitting some Thai pads and Cyborg sparring lightly with her husband, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos.

The two couldn’t have presented themselves more differently. Carano, all designer clothes and pinup pretty, and Cyborg, heavily tatted and tough. It’s an obvious distinction, one the media will certainly play up as the fight approaches, even if all that really matters is what happens inside the cage.

It’s also an image that figures into the prevailing notion of how the fight will play out – Carano’s technique versus Cyborg’s power.

Not that Carano, who’s been training with UFC legend Randy Couture, sees it that way: “I feel like I have a lot of power and I have technique, and she has a lot of power and she has technique. We’re not going to know how powerful we are or technical we are until we get in there. Once we feel it, then we’ll know.” As for Cyborg, she believes “the one who makes the fewer mistakes will win this fight. I am expecting a war. I have been training a lot since my last fight. I am ready and very excited.”

The card will also feature three additional world championship bouts: Joe “Diesel” Riggs (30-10) and Nick Diaz (20-7) will revisit their bitter rivalry that began three years ago in the UFC when they face off in the first Strikeforce welterweight title bout; heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (29-11) will attempt to avenge a previous defeat against two-time BJJ world champion Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1), and Josh “The Punk” Thomson (16-2) will defend his lightweight crown against Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (15-2), the fighter whom Thomson dethroned by way of unanimous decision in June of last year.