Gina Carano talks about her life, 'American Gladiators' and the guys at the gym

If the 5-foot-8 Carano defeats Kobold, and top Brazilian fighter Cristiane Cyborg can get past Yoko Takahashi on the same fight card, the winners will meet early next year in what's anticipated to be the most lucrative women's MMA fight in history.

Carano, 26, who lives in her hometown of Las Vegas, recently sat down to talk about her upcoming fight and the demands of her sport.

Question: After weighing in for your last fight four pounds over the 140-pound limit, forcing you to give your opponent a percentage of your winnings, you hired a nutritionist. So, no more trips to McDonald's?

Answer: It's more just a different game plan. I'll eat six times a day, with a specific weight, such as a three-ounce chicken or white fish. No meat, certain kinds of carbs. ... It's just very, very specific."

Q: Elite XC created the 140-pound division specifically for you, but are you thinking of fighting in the more traditional 135-pound division?

A: I started going down to 135 originally because ... there's just so many girls right around that weight. So, I want to keep doing that, but it's just, I've got to figure out my body to do it.

Q: Unlike most MMA fighters, you didn't train in any particular form of self-defense while growing up. Were you one of those who learned on the street?

A: I'd been in a couple fights before, you know, when I was younger, but that was more because, I don't know, I used to always run into trouble for some reason. I think I might have carried a little bit of a chip on my shoulder that caused other females to react in a negative way, or even guys. ... But it was just because I was just socially awkward and I didn't talk a lot and I was just to myself, and sometimes people really confuse that and feel threatened by that. ... I'm not much of a talker either. I don't have anything to say back; I'm not that witty. People take that wrong.

Q: I read that you won a state title for your high school girls' basketball team. Was that a big deal around town?

A: I went to a really tiny Christian school five minutes away from the Strip, with, like, a gay bar across the street, a pool hall, a jewelry store that constantly got robbed and there's only like 200 kids in the whole high school.

Q: Were you nervous before your first MMA fight?

A: I was super nervous, actually. I fought a girl who was, like, 12 pounds heavier than me. It was in a small gym packed with, like, 400 people. The little ring was over in the corner. The girl had two fights, and I had zero. I just went in there and did really well, and nobody really believed it was my first fight. I was using front kicks to the face. I was doing what I practiced, and that's where it kind of started, because I did really well.

Q: You went to the University of Nevada, Reno for a year and then transferred to Nevada Las Vegas, where you dropped out about a semester shy of graduating with a psychology degree. Was that a good decision?

A: I'm glad I did it because, sometimes, you go to college and you don't even know why you're there. I'm very interested in school. ... I read every chapter, every definition. I'm a little obsessive like that. If I'm going to do something, I want to know about it. One day, I'll go back. I'm in such a great position with this fighting right now, that I just want to put my energy into that. All these things that people want and they don't know about, Hollywood or whatever, it's not all that it's cracked up to be; it's not as easy as you think it is when you're dreaming about it. It takes a lot of energy.

Q: Given that you spend a lot of time around male fighters, I'd imagine they attempt to socialize with you.

A: They do once they get to know me, but I'm very standoffish. Like when I went to a gym before, it was very quiet. At the same time, I don't want to push myself off on people, especially in their gym, so I just stick to myself. Some people just go and throw themselves on people, and I'm just not that person. I'm completely the opposite.

Q: Your character on "American Gladiators" doesn't seem much different than your actual personality. Was that casting on purpose?

A: They just kind of looked at me and accepted that I'm not going to be over-the-top. I'm just going to be myself, and people responded to it very well. Everyone wants to cast me as a bad ass. I tell them, 'You know, I don't think you want me to do that.'... I have a different perspective, I think, after being in the sport.

Q: What's the best aspect of training?

A: Going in the gym, and being around the people I am, is more meaningful than fighting itself. Everybody gets humbled, everybody gets the [stuff] kicked out of them, and everybody does well on some days. Everybody's kind of put in check on a daily basis. Everybody should get hit in the head once a day just to straighten them out.

Q: Do you spar with men?

A: I only train with guys. I actually wish that wasn't always the case. Sometimes, I think, 'Gosh, if I can take that punch, I've got a good chin, I can take any punch.' I'm not one for guys fighting girls, but if a girl can train with guys and keep up with them without pulling them down... I'm a hard worker, I've got the technique and I have the drive for it.

Q: Do your male sparring partners hold anything back?

A: I leave it up to them. It depends on the person. You get somebody who gives it back and you can actually handle it, but I'm not going to lie and say I can handle any of those guys.

dan.arritt@latimes.com