IFBB Figure star and fitness model Christine Pomponio-Pate showed up with her lil’ guy at the NPC Colorado State show. Christine was looking better than ever and you’d swear she was getting ready to compete. She tells me she has lost some muscle (it didn’t show) and that she weighs the same now as when she competed. Will she step on stage again? Never say never but she’s happy being a mom to her baby boy.
Christine Pomponio-Pate at the NPC Colorado State.
Thousands of fans will make their way to Broomfield, Colorado tonight to watch The Ring of Fire, a Mixed Martial Arts event. Three NPC Figure competitors will serve as ring girls for this event. Two of the three musketeers showed their purty little faces at the weigh-ins last night. Shawn Wittrock and Liza Kampstra hit poses many figure competitors don’t typically display. Instead of quarter turns, the ladies hit a posed with the fighters. At the end of the event Liza and Shawna got in the mix themselves. Who would win in this throwdown… Liza “aka the queen” or Shawna “dispatch” Wittrock? I’m told 4th place finisher at the NPC JR USA Figure, Jenny Lewis will be joining these two tonight.
Shawna and Liza set to throw down tonight.Liza Kampstra and Jenny Lewis will be competing next week at the NPC JR Nationals and Shawna competed last weekend at the NPC Mile High Colorado figure show. This is a great example of how working your asses off for NPC/IFBB events can also parlay into something else. I encourage NPC and IFBB women to look for creative ways to do other things outside the industry and in the process it helps educate others. It’s amusing to hear guys ask to see Liza and Shawna’s “guns” and hit them with questions about how they got their abs. It’s intriguing to others when they see buff women and it is a perfect opportunity to educate them.
Despite not making weight for the Elite XC fights, Gina “Conviction” Carano provided one of the most entertaining fights of the night. The fights marked the debut of MMA on network TV. Gina stated after the fight that she didn’t have enough time to prepare for the fights due to her schedule with the American Gladiators. She goes by “Conviction” in the MMA world and “Crush” on American Gladiators but whatever you want to coin her she is a badass who helped elevate women’s MMA on Saturday night. It’s reported that Gina had to weigh between 150-170 for her role on American Gladiators, so it’s understandable that she would have some difficulty getting down to 140 in a short amount of time. She’s only 26 and still learning about herself and how to control her weight. Gina provided an impressive fight against Kaitlin Young, winning at the end of the second round due to doctor’s stoppage.
Gina Curano lands a punch against Kaitlin Young on Saturday.
Photo by Dave Mandel of Sherdog.com
Props to Gina for giving women a voice in MMA and showing she is much more than a pretty face. Her stint on American Gladiators helped bring attention to women in MMA. The broadcast on CBS mentioned she is featured in Muscle & Fitness magazine. Check out the July issue on stands now for the feature on Gina and more the M&F website. Many of our visitors who are fitness and figure athletes follow the world of MMA. What do you think about women in MMA? Let us know your thought and take our poll below:
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