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By Michael Lopez

It seems like for the past several weeks, the name Gina Carano has been popping up a lot. A superstar in the world of mixed martial arts, Gina is now ready to break into the movie world with her new film Haywire. And though many doubted her acting abilities, the bare-knuckled beauty has been wowing critics with her performance. Carano spoke to us at a recent press conference about her exciting new career.

"Working on Haywire was one of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had," she confessed. "I got to see places I’ve never seen and travel to places I’ve never been."

The daughter of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Glenn Carano, Gina grew up in a very loving (and very competitive) household. She described herself as a "tomboy," with a soft spot for Jane Austen.

"I actually grew up on Pride & Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables," Carano jokingly told us. "There were no real female action stars on the TV at our house."

But she did grow up loving martial arts and eventually channeled that into a career fighting for the Strikeforce organization. As she told us, her years in the ring helped bring her to the attention of Haywire’s casting agents.

"My martial arts background is how I got the Haywire job. My agent called me after a fight and told me [director] Steven Soderbergh wanted to meet me. We had lunch and after that he offered me the movie."

A few months later, Gina was going toe-to-toe with some of the acting world's biggest heavyweights. Throughout the film, she shares screen time with Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, and Antonio Banderas.

But Carano assured us that it was a very comfortable set and she seemed eager to return to the big screen again.

"I would love to do more acting," she said. "We have a lot of ideas for a Haywire Part 2, but I think we're going to wait and see how this film does before we talk about any sequels."

You can see just how well Gina "acts" when Haywire arrives in theaters this Friday.

Are looking forward to Gina's big screen debut? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Antonio Banderas, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Ewan McGregor, Exclusive Entrevistas, Gina Carano, Haywire, Michael Douglas, MMA, Movies & CineMás, Steven Soderbergh, Strikeforce, Tr3s Exclusives

By Michael Lopez

Fans of the big screen Mummy franchise are in for some very good news. It seems the legendary Scorpion King character is prepping himself for battle once again with a new straight-to-DVD release scheduled to hit shelves January 10. This time out, Victor Webster will be taking on the iconic role and doing battle with the epic forces of ancient Egypt. Webster spoke with us exclusively about what fans can expect from the sequel.

"Working on The Scorpion King 3 was one of the best experiences of my life," he explained. “Running around, playing a barbarian, working with elephants, it was incredible!”

Interestingly, Scorpion King 3 includes another famous barbarian in its cast, namely Conan star Ron Perlman. Victor went on to say that working with Ron was a blast, as was his on set experience with co-star Billy Zane.

"Billy is very gregarious and charming," Webster told us. "While Ron is much more stoic. Being able to work between the two of them was great."

In this outing, the King (aka Mathayus) is sent on an adventure to recover the legendary Book of the Dead. Whoever possesses the writings, has the power to control the greatest warriors from beyond the grave (which include MMA stars Dave Batista and Kimbo Slice). Obviously with those kind of powerhouse figures on set, you can bet King 3 will be packed with action scenes.

"I loved the action in this movie," Victor went on to say. "My martial arts training actually helped a lot with knowing how to throw punches and kicks. It also helped with the fight choreography."

Webster actually has quite an extensive background in martial arts. A trained black belt, he's used his fighting skills for roles in Mutant X and V.I.P. But Victor's also proven himself to be a very capable comedic actor, having scored laughs on shows like Reba, Becker, and Drop Dead Diva.

"One of the great things about Scorpion King 3, is that it blends in a lot of comedy and action," he explained. "I think it's a great movie for everyone. There are really a lot of larger-than-life characters in this installment."

And it's also interesting to point out that this latest Scorpion King is part Latino. Webster explained that he is quite proud of the Spanish blood he inherited from his mom’s side of the family.

And having seen the film, Victor should be very proud of his performance too. Hopefully, if all goes well, we can see him slaying mummies, demigods, and undead MMA fighters for many sequels to come!

Are you a fan of the Mummy movies? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Billy Zane, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Dave Batista, Exclusive Entrevistas, Kimbo Slice, MMA, Movies & CineMás, Ron Perlman, The Mummy, The Scorpion King, The Scorpion King 3, Tr3s Exclusives, Victor Webster

By Michael Lopez

Is there such a thing as a "chick flick" for men? If so, then Warrior is a strong contender. With its tender story and tough MMA undertones, it packs a solid punch in the emotions department and might even (dare we say it) get a few guys in the audience to shed some tears.

Written and directed by Gavin O'Connor, Warrior definitely captures the essence and excitement of mixed martial arts. There are intense training sequences, larger-than-life fighters, and well-executed battles in the octagon. But beyond all that, there are some very deep characters that audience members can't help but become attached to.

Basically broken up into two stories, Warrior follows the lives of brothers Brendan and Tom Conlon. Brendan (played by Inception's Tom Hardy) is the angry war hero with a mysterious past, who claims to be fighting for his own "personal reasons." Tom (played by newcomer Joel Edgerton) is the sensible family man, who's joining the MMA circuit strictly to provide for his wife and kids.

Linking them both together is their recovering alcoholic father Paddy (played brilliantly by Nick Nolte). Both Brendan and Tom have their own reasons to dislike dear old dad, but Paddy's fighting career is what shaped their drive to succeed in the ring.

Ultimately both brothers compete in the same big money tournament and, as expected, they wind up fighting each other for the final $5 million purse. Though the grand showdown between the Conlons is nail-bitingly good (no spoilers here), it's actually the story that leads up to that match that makes Warrior so exciting.

O'Connor deserves quite a bit of credit for this film. Though some parts are definitely formulaic and fall into the "sports movie" stereotypes, it's still well worth a look, particularly for fans of mixed martial arts.

Bottom line: You know a movie's good when it whizzes by with a 139-minute running time. Despite being nearly two-and-a-half hours long, Warrior never has a dull moment. Whether it's the fantastic MMA fights (and there are plenty) or the emotional "brotherly" moments, you'll never find yourself wanting to Tap Out of this film.

Are you planning to watch Warrior this weekend? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Blogger: Michael Lopez, Joel Edgerton, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, Movie Reviews, Movies & CineMás, Nick Nolte, Tom Hardy, Warrior

By Michael Lopez

There's no denying the power of Mixed Martial Arts. Within the past decade, the combat sport has surged in popularity, attracting millions of fans and billions of dollars in advertising revenue. And now, one organization is hoping to tap directly into the Hispanic segment with Latino fighters and Spanish broadcasts.

The Bellator Fighting Championships are already gathering quite a fanbase with live broadcasts on MTV 2. Also seen on ESPN Deportes, Telemundo, and right here on Tr3s, it's growing by leaps and bounds. But as far as the Latino push is concerned, CEO Bjorn Rebney claims that they're just getting started.

"We have consistently had a tremendous focus on Latino fight fans throughout this country and throughout the world," Rebney said. "We're going to keep pushing that because some of the greatest fight fans in the world are Hispanic consumers."

And, as evidenced by the Bellator fights, some of the greatest competitors happen to be Hispanic too. Cuban immigrant Héctor "Shango" Lombard is one of the organization's most promising fighters. At 5'9 and 185 pounds, he's a Middleweight force to be reckoned with. So far, Shango's trademarked judo moves have delivered 15 TKOs in the ring.

Another brutal Latino contender to keep your eye on is 26-year-old Eddie Alvarez. A Puerto-Rican American, Eddie currently holds the belt for Lightweight World Champion and has delivered some devastating blows with his MMA boxing techniques.

Though if you ask Bjorn, Eddie and Shango are just the tip of the Latino iceberg. So far, over 20 percent of Bellator's fighters are of Hispanic descent and Rebney says that they're constantly searching for new talent.

"We're constantly looking in South and Central America and Mexico for the next guy," Bjorn explained. "[Latinos] are an important part of the company. It’s part of who we are."

Are you a fan of the Bellator Fighting Championships? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Bellator, Bellator Fighting Championships, Bjorn Rebney, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Eddie Alvarez, Héctor “Shango” Lombard, MMA, Sports

By Sharmaine Jones

Latinos have been making a statement in the MMA sport. Last month WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo Jr. put on a stellar performance successfully defending his title, now, UFC's Cain Velasquez is giving us more to cheer about. Velasquez defeated Brock Lesnar to become the first ever Mexican heavyweight champion

Image : Getty Images Entertainment

Allow us to paint the picture. The fight began with Lesnar clearly attempting to use 20+ pound size advantage over Velasquez by charging full force at him. Lesnar grabbed Velasquez and proceeded to knees into his chest and stomach area. Lesnar was relentless but wasn't able to take Cain down – which was clearly his game plan. After a few thrown punches by both fighters, Lesnar was successful in his first take-down and although Velasquez was quickly back on his feet, Lesnar had him pinned up against the cage. Heres where the fight got interesting, Cain remained calm and managed to separate himself from Lesnar's tight hold. After a few thrown punches, Cain was able to get Lesnar down, jumped on his back and laid down a flurry of hammer-fists that sent his opponent's head in every direction imaginable. Lesnar managed to get up but his face was covered in blood and he was clearly hurt. This my friends, was the beginning of the end. Velasquez landed a knee to Lesnar's face which sent him back to the floor. Lesnar turtles, Velasquez unloads more hammer-fists, at 4:12 of the first round the referee stops the fight and we have a new UFC Heavyweight Champion!

Only a few years into his mixed martial arts career, undefeated Cain Velasquez's (9-0-0) systematic annihilation of the very popular Brock Lesnar is only the beginning. Aside from dethroning a champion, Velasquez set a new precedent: until Saturday night's (October 23) UFC-121 bout, no fighter of Mexican decent had ever won a heavyweight world title in boxing or mixed martial arts.  Even though that fact may be surprising, the fact that Velasquez is the one to accomplish this is not. The two-time All-American wrestler from Arizona State punches like Chuck Liddell, his kicks mirror Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and the guy never gets tired. Translation: He's a walking recipe for MMA success. We're sure we'll be hearing more from Cain Velasquez who we've nicknamed “The Problem”.

Velasquez's next bout will be against number one contender Junior Dos Santos.

Do you think Velasquez will hold onto his title? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags boxing, Brock Lesner, Cain Velasquez, Chuck Liddell, Kickboxing, MMA, UFC

By Sharmaine Jones

World Extreme Cage-fighting (or WEC as it's better known) fans have been buzzing about featherweight champion Jose Aldo Jr. At just 24 years old, the Brazilian phenom is widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Image: FightWiki

Last night (September 30) at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, Aldo proved once again that he is a force to be reckoned with in a second-round technical knockout in his title defense match against Manny “The Anvil” Gamburyan.

The fight began with Gamburyan as the aggressor landing a powerful right that sent Aldo flying back towards the fence. Aldo shrugged it off and the round continued. Gamburyan was “feeling himself” and started taunting Aldo until he was hit with a low kick that caused his leg to buckle. From then on “The Anvil” rethought his strategy and ran the rest of the round – so much so that the referee actually told him “you have to fight!” Early in the second round Aldo stunned Gamburyan with a quick left-right combo then dropped him with a strong uppercut. Aldo seized the opportunity by jumping on Gaburyan's back while he was down and unloading a barrage of uppercuts knocking him out 92 seconds into the round!
According to Aldo, everything went as planned:

“In the first round, I was studying him to see what I could do. In the second round, I put all the hard work I’ve been doing in the gym to use and I was able to knock him out."

Sounds like a great plan to us! With the win last night, Aldo (18-0 MMA, 8-0 WEC) remains undefeated in the WEC, retains his belt and forces WEC fans to compare him to the great fighters like Anderson Silva and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Keep an eye out for Aldo “Junior” because he has the potential to be a huge star in the fighting world. We're cheering for you!

Were you impressed by Jose Aldo Jr.'s performance last night? Sound off in the comments below!

Tags Jose Aldo Jr., Manny "The Anvil" Gamburyan, MMA, WEC