Kim Couture versus Lina Kvokov set for November 21st

Kim Couture will face Lina Kvokov at “Strikeforce: Destruction” on November 21st.
Both women are 0-1-0, but everybody has to start winning somehere don't they?
Kim is (as WWE's Jim Ross would say) "double tough".
The wife of UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture broke her jaw in her first fight earlier this year just seconds into the first round.
But she showed true fighting spirit by staying in there all three rounds.
Even though her opponent Kim Rose won the fight by unanimous decision, Kim scored a personal victory.
Both women on paper are evenly matched.
But showing the kind of guts Kim did back in June, I do not envy Lina Kvokov.

Speaking of Lina, she is involved in a very worthwhile organization, "Female Fighters Against Domestic Violence".
You can check out their website here: http://www.ffadv.org/

Female MMA Moving into the Spotlight?

It's a bit early to say, but I think the Gina Carano / Kelly Kobold fight may have finally been the event that has pushed female MMA into the spotlight.
The amount of articles referencing women in MMA has picked up considerably.
Here's just a couple of examples......

First, this article at MMA Funhouse by Michael David Smith....
Gina Carano's Toughest Fight: Getting Recognition for Women's MMA
Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin was honored at the Women's Sports Foundation's annual Salute to Women in Sports on Tuesday night in New York City. So was softball player Jessica Mendoza. Dozens of female athletes from sports ranging from basketball to skateboarding were lauded from the podium.
And Gina Carano sat in the audience, wondering if her fellow athletes even know that her sport exists.
http://mma.fanhouse.com/2008/10/15/gina-caranos-toughest-fight-getting-recognition-for-womens-mm/

And this article at SFGate by Kelly Mills....
Women taking their place in kickboxing ring
At the Best of the Bay kickboxing event Aug. 16 in San Francisco, there were three women in the ring for one bout, and no one batted an eye. One of the women was the "ring girl," scantily dressed and wearing heels, who walked along the ropes with a sign signaling the round number. The two other women were fighters, dressed in traditional satin muay Thai shorts, tank tops and boxing gloves. As the bell went off, the ring girl teetered off the canvas, and the two fighters emerged from their corners, trading ferocious punches and kicks. The crowd cheered as one fighter landed a hard right cross, while the other threw a whiplike kick aimed at her rival's head. When the bell rang again, the two women returned to opposite sides of the ring, sweaty and slightly bloodied, awaiting coaching from their corners, as the ring girl picked up her sign.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/17/LV8P13GQHV.DTL

Sometimes it's difficult to even find anything on female MMA fighters, but now that seems to be changing.

FEMALES TO MAKE THEIR TKO DEBUT

FEMALES TO MAKE THEIR TKO DEBUT: THE START OF SOMETHING SPECIAL

(MONTREAL, CANADA) May 7th, 2007 – TKO Major League MMA is delighted to announce its first ever female mixed martial arts (MMA) bout when SARAH KAUFMAN (4-0-0), fighting out of Victoria, B.C., squares off against VALERIE LETOURNEAU (1-0-0), fighting out of Montreal, QC. MMA has traditionally had a reputation of being a male-dominated, testosterone-driven sport. However, a growing number of women, like Montreal’s own Valerie Letourneau, will paint a different picture for you. “Fighting for TKO is like a dream come true for me! I have wanted to fight for this company for a very long time and I feel ready and very excited for June 1st!”

Full article at:
http://www.mmaringreport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1221&Itemid=47

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MMA: Katrine Alendal

" Take Katrine Alendal. A professional MMA fighter, she spends almost all of her free time training at Fairtex (when she isn’t bartending). She has separate coaches for Muay Thai, Jujitsu, strength training and boxing. She has a trainer, a former heavyweight boxer turned mixed martial artist, but says boxing may be the weakest part of her game. But her punches are crisp and full of power. If someone walks into her right cross, it’s lights out.

Though Alendal lost her first professional fight, she showed a fighter’s heart. Rather than tapping out once her opponent had her in a chokehold and conceding the match (as is customary), she fought on until she finally passed out. Though she could have been seriously hurt, one can’t help but admire her tenacity.

As fighters like Alendal incorporate more boxing into their fight game, they might give boxing its heart back. Viewers like myself won’t need expensive pay-per-view events to see good boxing and watch good fights. "

Full article at:
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=68e8e74068a2ffb94019b79c24f837ae

technorati tags:ufc, media, pride, japan, mixed martial arts, k-1, news, ifl, whaledog, boxing

MMA Fighter:Rima Haddad

Rima Haddad
Height: 5' 4"
Preferred Fighting Weight: 118 - 118 lbs
Date of Birth:
Dominant Hand: right
Fighting out of: team Renzo Gracie
Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Trainer: Pat Cooligan
Style:Mixed Martial Arts

http://www.tuffgrrlz.com/index.asp?page=competitors&fighter_id=12

technorati tags:ufc, media, pride, japan, mixed martial arts, k-1, news, ifl, whaledog, boxing

Kickboxing: Brenda Harrison

Brenda Harrison
Nickname: 2sweet
Height: 5' 6"
Preferred Fighting Weight: 117 - 122 lbs
Date of Birth: 9/26/1973
Dominant Hand: right
Fighting out of: Thunder Kickboxing
Atlanta, Georgia U.S.A.
Trainer: Eddie Monger
Style: Kickboxing

More info:
http://www.tuffgrrlz.com/index.asp?page=competitors&fighter_id=13


technorati tags:ufc, media, pride, japan, mixed martial arts, k-1, news, ifl, whaledog, boxing

Kickboxing/Muay Thai: Jodi Hensel

Jodi Hensel
Height: 5' 7"
Preferred Fighting Weight: 130 - 130 lbs
Dominant Hand: right
Fighting out of: Peterec's Kickboxing & Karate Centre,Victoria, British Columbia Canada
Trainer: Stan Peterec
Style Win :Kickboxing/Muay Thai

http://www.tuffgrrlz.com/index.asp?page=competitors&fighter_id=7

technorati tags:ufc, media, pride, japan, mixed martial arts, k-1, news, ifl, whaledog, boxing

MMA Fighter: Nicole Hess

Nicole Hess
Height: 5'4"
Preferred Fighting Weight: 120 - 125 lbs
Date of Birth: August 18,1987
Dominant Hand: Right
Fighting out of: Mi-Ki-Do Martial Arts
Alexandria, Virginia U.S.A.
Trainer: Mike Hess
Style: Mixed Martial Arts,Kickboxing/Muay Thai

http://www.tuffgrrlz.com/index.asp?page=competitors&fighter_id=104

technorati tags:ufc, media, pride, japan, mixed martial arts, k-1, news, ifl, whaledog, boxing

Women Fight Their Way Into Mixed Martial Arts - NAM

Women Fight Their Way Into Mixed Martial Arts - NAM:

"SAN FRANCISCO -- As mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting continues to draw capacity crowds to arenas and sports bars from Tokyo to Las Vegas, many commentators see its appeal in its similarity to street fighting. Legal MMA moves such as 'take downs,' 'choke holds' and 'ground and pound' techniques (where a fighter pins his opponent down and beats him with his fists and elbows) can come across more like barroom brawl strategies than practiced moves and give MMA a reputation as a male-dominated, testosterone-driven sport.

However, a growing number of women fighters like Katrine (pronounced Katrina) Alendal paint a different picture. 'Mixed martial artists are some of the most conditioned athletes in the world,' says the 36-year-old fighter who studies muy-thai kick-boxing, jiujitsu, Western boxing and judo. 'It takes a lot of skill, a lot of training and a lot of conditioning.' She emphatically denies any relationship between MMA and street fighting."