Gina Carano, Randy Couture to Be Featured in ESPN's 'Body Issue'

Gina Carano and Randy Couture will be among the 30 male and female professional athletes posing nude or semi-nude in ESPN The Magazine's first "Body Issue," which hits newsstands on Oct. 9.

Couture's cauliflower ear will be the focus of his spread and Carano will be posing semi-nude in "The Bodies We Want" photo section.

"You really get an idea of everything these guys and gals go through and the toll it takes sometimes," said Sue Hovey, the executive editor of ESPN The Magazine.

"Randy has a very interesting looking ear, known as a cauliflower ear, and I think that when you'll see it, you'll realize that this guy goes through a lot to do what he loves."

Major names from the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, tennis and boxing will also be featured in the special issue, which will be released once a year. And yes, private parts will be strategically covered up.

"These athletes, they were very brave because we were asking to look at some of the more visually vulnerable places on their body," said Gary Belsky, editor in chief of ESPN The Magazine.

Carano hasn't been heard from much since she lost to Cris Cyborg in August. It was announced earlier this month that she will be appearing in Oscar-award winning director Steven Soderbergh's upcoming film, Knockout.

Couture recently lost to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102. He is scheduled to face Brandon Vera in the main event of UFC 105 on Nov. 14.

Ever since The Magazine put Chuck Liddell on its cover in May 2007, it has been consistent in shining a bit of the sports spotlight on MMA. Nice to see two of the sport's bigger names featured in this unique issue.


Source: MMA Fanhouse

wow .....thank god not nude ....i was gonna say why gina ....u said u never would. not that i wouldn't want to see it.. she's beautiful......but i respect gina alot ...like everyone else here and well thats one of the reasons we love gina is that she wont sell herself out like that.

I'll still always respect Gina, she has her reasons for doing certain things. Yes, I'm glad that it's only semi-nude too.

aha............true,,,Ang she has her reasons ,but speaking for me .....girls who pose nude are somewhat degrading themselves ,,,,,,and i not a big fan of girls doing that to them selves or anyone for that matter ...anyone else agree with me?....................but like i always say its my opinion

I don't find nudity degrading or offensive -- as long as it's done "tastefully".

Gina posed semi-nude for Maxim before. I think it wouldn't bother me if ever she poses in the nude. She's of age to decide whatever she wants -- and I think she's the type of person who does things for reasons consistent to her values.

BTW, if there ever was an appropriate age in one's life to pose nude or semi-nude, I think she's in it -- I mean, why wait until you're 60, right? (No offense meant to older people...)

I agree Aiki. I have no problem with someone posing nude as long as it's done in a tasteful manner and I don't feel like a women (or man) is degrading themselves, everyone has different opinions and values. What's wrong with showing off the human body?

I feel that Gina will do what is best for her and if that would include posing nude or semi-nude, I will still support and be her fan. But I also feel that she will never pose completely nude, but semi-nude, like with her latest Maxim shoot that Aiki mentioned.

I agree with everyone. Gina is a very modest person. She gets embarrassed easily. I think it is hard enough for her to pose semi-nude. I don't see her posing nude anytime soon. I can't wait to see the new photos of her.

I wonder what it would look like. Semi-nude can mean a lot of things. I think (and kinda hope) Gina will never pose full nude. Personally I think you shouldnt do this (unless maybe if its for sme charity thing or something), since those bits are private, they should be reserved for your special person. That just my opinion

It's a tricky subject, as I guess it's different for everyone. I know I wouldn't ever pose completely nude, but that's just me. I agree with the points that Brittany and Aiki made, BUT also with yours Bas. Maybe I sound like a walking contradiction because of what I've just mentioned, but I guess it's up to the individual and how they see things. Not everything is plain Black and White. All points are good and valid.

It def is not black and white. I too agree with the other points, but my comment was more black than white because adding grey to white still gives you a light coloured mix. That sounded stupid, but Im guessing it may actually make some sense

sometimes my post can be a little wierd ............but what i was trying to get around to was exactly what bas was saying. that special person thing .

Bastiaan wrote:It def is not black and white. I too agree with the other points, but my comment was more black than white because adding grey to white still gives you a light coloured mix. That sounded stupid, but Im guessing it may actually make some sense

That statement definitely made sense, LOL.