Notes from FanHouse in Newark.
After a desultory first hour that featured two minutes of fighting and a lot of waiting around, the fans at the Prudential Center finally got excited about something going on in the ring. Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young gave good effort and and exciting fight that ended after two rounds when the doctor ruled that Young couldn't continue.
Young actually got the better of the bigger and heavily favored Carano in the first round, keeping her on her back for the lion's share of the action. The second round, though, saw Carano break through with a variety of strikes and kicks, including a foot to the body that may have led to the end if the bell hadn't stopped the round. The crowd was very into it, chanting lustily for Carano and, perhaps, showing that there's room for more women in the MMA mix.
Before that, the crowd was searching for any reason to get excited. They cheered lustily for local product Phil Baroni as he made his way to the cage but were let down when Joe Villasenor made quick work of him. The only other thing getting them excited is the appearance of Plaxico Burress of the Super Bowl champion Giants near the cage.
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