10 Greatest Female Fighters In MMA History

While Gina 'Conviction' Carano had a relatively short career, she was a very important figure in Women's MMA.

With her exciting Muay Thai-based style and movie star good looks, the 5-foot-8 featherweight out of Dallas, Texas became the first female fighter to achieve stardom in North America. Before Ronda Rousey came around, it was Gina Carano who appeared in publications like ESPN The Magazine and Maxim. At the height of her popularity, in the mid-2000s, media outlets often referred to her as the 'face of women's MMA.' In 2009, the featherweight (along with Cris Cyborg) became the first female to headline a major MMA event at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg.

If Ronda Rousey paved the way for women's MMA, at the very least, Gina Carano helped her mix the concrete.

'Conviction' ended her professional career with a respectable 7-1 record and defeated former Invicta Bantamweight Champion (and current UFC fighter), Tonya Evinger. Her only loss came at the hands of Cris Cyborg.