The Contenders:
Gina “Conviction” Carano (5-0-0): Carano is, by far, the most recognisable face in female MMA, both from her fights in EliteXC and her time spent as “Crush” on American Gladiators. She is undefeated in her career, and has worked diligently to improve her ground game. Her background is in Muay Thai kickboxing, and her striking is equal to any challenger. Carano won her first two fights by knockout, then moved to the Strikeforce promotion in December of 2006, where she defeated Elaina Maxwell.
EliteXC, immediately noticing Carano for both her skill as a fighter and easy marketability with her camera-friendly looks, signed her right away. Carano debuted in EliteXC at EliteXC: Destiny in February of 2007, defeating Julie Kedzie by Unanimous Decision in what was ruled as the Fight of the Night. The fight remains as one of the best in EliteXC’s history. Her next test came against Tonya Evinger at EliteXC: Uprising in September, and Carano survived some scares on the ground to win by rear naked choke.
She trains with the Xtreme Couture camp in Las Vegas, but recent questions have arised as to whether she is still as dedicated to fighting as she once was. If she sticks with it, a fight with Tara LaRosa would be a great one.
Hisae Watanabe (19-6-0): Watanabe is the former DEEP 105-pound Women’s Champion, but was unable to follow up on her incredible KO victory over previously-undefeated Sakoto Shinashi. Since the win over Shinashi, she has gone 2-2 in DEEP, and questions remain whether she can regain her status at the top of the division. Unlike most of the other Japanese female mixed martial artists, Watanabe is not a grappler and does not often go for submissions. She is very heavy-handed and prefers to end the fight on the feet.
With her superb striking, and strong ability to avoid takedowns and submissions, Watanabe has all of the potential in the world, but her victory over Shinashi remains as her only big win to date. Another victory over Shinashi, or a title victory in DEEP, would return Watanabe to the top of the 105-pound division, but she must get her career back on track.
Laura D’Auguste (8-0-1): While almost entirely unknown in MMA, D’Auguste has yet to be defeated, and holds victories over Amanda Buckner and Roxanne Modafferi. She is very well-rounded, with four knockout victories and two by submission. In her two most recent fights, both against Megumi Yabushita, D’Auguste emerged victorious in each.
However, she has not fought since August of 2006. She clearly has the potential to challenge the best in the world, but must continue fighting in order to do so.
Amanda Buckner (11-4-1): Like Tara LaRosa, Buckner suffered an early KO loss to Jennifer Howe, then went 1-2-1 in her next four fights, but she has lost just one time in her last nine bouts. She specialises in guillotine and rear naked chokes, and has also scored wins by armbar submission. She holds two victories over Shayna Baszler, one over Megumi Yabushita and one each over Julie Kedzie and Hitomi Akano.
Buckner was defeated by Tara LaRosa by rear naked choke with 29 seconds remaining in round three in their BodogFIGHT battle in 2006. It was a very close fight that Buckner may well have won had she survived the round. A rematch with LaRosa, or a battle with Gina Carano, would surely prove to be entertaining.
Lisa Ward (11-3-0): Ward has battled foes in many promotions, but has yet to find success in higher-profile fights. Seven of her victories have come by way of submission, and she is skilled in chokes, armbars and Kimuras. She remains undefeated in SmackGIRL, including a victory over Ayumi Saito in February, but has been defeated twice in HOOKnSHOOT and was submitted by Megumi Fujii at BodogFIGHT in Vancouver last August. She is a good fighter, but needs a victory over a top competitor to further her career.
Hitomi Akano (12-5-0): Like many of her Japanese compatriots, Akano is a master of the armbar, having used it to secure nearly all of her victories. She has been defeated just one time in SmackGIRL, but has had less success in other promotions. Akano has dropped decisions to Tara LaRosa and Amanda Buckner, but often seems to be just a step away from attaining greatness. She was victorious in her most recent fight against Megumi Yabushita, avenging a past loss. A key victory will put Akano among the elite at 135.
Kelly Kobald (16-2-1): Kobald seemed utterly unstoppable until 2007, having gone undefeated throughout her career, with one Draw with Ginele Marquez. She is an extremely well-rounded fighter, with numerous victories by KO and submission. Kobald defeated Shayna Baszler in 2004, giving Baszler her first loss. However, after engaging in a thrilling title bout with Tara LaRosa in BodogFIGHT, Kobald was submitted by armbar in the fourth round.
She lost again to Julie Kedzie one month later in October of 2007, and has not fought since. The two recent losses aside, Kobald remains as an imposing force, but needs a win to get back on track.
Roxanne Modafferi (11-4-0): Modafferi remains as the only fighter to ever defeat Jennifer Howe, and she did it twice. Until that time, Howe was thought to be unbeatable, with nearly a dozen fighters dodging fights with her. However, Modafferi has had mixed success since, with losses to Tara LaRosa and Shayna Baszler.
She avenged a loss to Megumi Yabushita, then defeated Yabushita a second time in a one-night tournament at K-GRACE in May of 2007. Modafferi won all three of her fights that night, and also holds the IFC Women’s Bantamweight (135 pounds) Championship. She has not fought since last May.