When I enjoy doing something, I don't mind if it hurts.
— Gina Carano
A lot of people enjoyed the film 'Haywire' and a lot of people have mixed feelings on it but regardless, a lot of people have said really wonderful things about it being my first experience, that the fighting they absolutely enjoyed. So I think I've gotten a lot more fans, actually.
Fighting is very physical and extreme and you're very vulnerable. It's a very mental type of thing.
My mom used to tell me: 'It's not what you weigh; it's what you look like.'
I don't mind answering any questions, because I'm not just a fighter. I'm a lot more than that.
I didn't really watch action films growing up! I grew up on stuff like 'Anne of Green Gables' - that was more when I was in elementary school. It was all I ever watched.
I don't get paid what people think I get paid for fighting.
Well you know, I have the utmost respect for people like Angelina Jolie and Zoe Saldana in 'Colombiana. '
There are certain things that I always dreamed of, like fighting in the UFC. There's just certain things that I feel like haven't been accomplished there. There's such great women coming up in the sport; seems like a wonderful time to be in women's MMA.
The guys I date always want to test my strength and wrestle around. By the end, they're drenched in sweat.
It's a constant battle for everybody, but you need to be happy with yourself.
I am always training because I love it.
It's a very big deal to me to remain the same person because I know all of this is going to be gone one day and I'm just going to have myself.
I have gotten some of the most beautiful experiences that a person can possibly ask for so I'm not at all complaining.
Everybody is their own critic.
Of course, fighting is not going to be as graceful as movie fighting. I don't like it to be ugly and I don't like it to be one big brawl or people clobbering each other.
I've had cameras on me since I started the art of fighting and I think that I'm used to having cameras on me in adrenaline-type situations.
I think there's a part in each one of us that wants the impossible to happen, and that's what surprises are.
I want people to see me for who I am and not for how someone else is trying to promote me.
I find that whoever you are as a person is how you're gonna fight, and every basic instinct kind of comes out at that moment.
Fighting is my career, it's what I love to do, but I am taking offers and trying to expand because the more I expand myself, the more valuable I become to promoters.
My last fight wasn't the way I wanted it to go so there is a hole there; don't count me out.
I wake up every morning and I surprise myself. I wake up to a new me.
I am not a violent person. I actually don't like to hurt people.
You shouldn't be greedy. You should feel good about yourself and not be greedy of what other people have.
Since I've started fighting it has taught me a lot about self respect, self confidence and self control.
I know I don't look like the skinny slender model. I know I look a little different but people like to watch me for some reason. It feels good and I'm humbled by it.
I'm really surprised how many people knew me as Gina Carano. MMA has a beautiful fan base.
I think I came up in fighting in a really technical way. If you've ever seen my fights, you know I love distance, I love technique.
I was always bigger than the other girls. My sisters are very, very beautiful and very skinny, and I've always had a more muscular body. So I grew up with a different mentality.
I know I'm always rooting for the underdog in a fight, and I love to be constantly surprised.
Sometimes, you get portrayed the way you don't want to be portrayed.
The ultimate first date? Something that is completely out of the ordinary - go crazy, because first dates are always a little awkward, so do something a little extreme.
My knowledge of video games ends with Nintendo 'Mario Bros.'
When I throw a punch, I mean it.
I like fighting because it's honest.
I definitely don't want to be one of those athletes who turns into a cheesy actress.
You want to get better even after people smash you down. You want to be better than you were before.
On 'American Gladiators,' I got to pummel a lot of people off a pyramid with a giant Q-tip. It was so much fun to wrestle people with no risk of getting knocked out or choked out.
My first fight. I fought a girl that was a little bit heavier, a little bit more experienced and I was petrified because I didn't know what I was getting myself into. And I did really well against her and nobody believed it was my first fight.
