Whether “Conviction” or “Crush,” the brawn and beauty that is Gina Carano will be in more than a few living rooms these next few days and breaking down barriers while she’s there.

Having already been featured recently on ESPN’s E:60 show and having come away victorious in the first-ever women’s mixed-martial arts fight on Showtime, Carano is a star attraction Saturday as the burgeoning sport of MMA finds out just how mainstream it is. Then, two nights later, she’ll settle back into her roll as the most popular American Gladiator since Zap or Nitro.

So, in three nights’ time she’ll be featured on both CBS and NBC, not a bad run.

Elite XC, likely the No. 2 mixed martial company behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship, will make history on Saturday when it airs live on CBS - the first MMA brand to appear live on network television. Making history right along with the show will be Carano, 5-0 in MMA competition, and opponent Kaitlin Young, who will continue to grow women’s MMA competition when they become the first two ladies to showcase their talents on network TV. That’s the “Conviction” part, her MMA nickname.

Then there’s “Crush.” “They call me Crush, because America has a crush on me and I crush people,” she told viewers during the aforementioned ESPN spot. She prefaced the line by adding just how “cheesy” it was, letting everyone like her even more after seeing her embarrassed, crooked smile and bitten-lip charm.

While the second season of American Gladiators has fallen upon reported ratings hardship, it’s done nothing to lessen Carano’s star power.

Of course, neither has her stunning beauty. Along with an entertaining stand-up fighting style, Carano’s good looks and charisma have no doubt made her the brightest star in women’s MMA. Insiders will say someone like Megumi Fujii or Tara LaRosa or Yuka Tsuji - all names you probably haven’t heard - are likely the best. But Carano’s no Mia St. John or Anna Kournikova, either. She trains at Xtreme Couture - UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture’s camp - and has a successful Muay Thai background, as well.

Make no mistake, whether it’s as an American Gladiator with a jousting lance in a Burbank television studio or a modern-day gladiator with gloves wrapped around her hands inside a cage, Carano is pretty damn good at what she does. It’s all the extras that, indeed, make her an “it girl,” in the public eye.

And even still, as a vocal champion of the sport of mixed martial arts, I wonder if the mainstream is ready to see ladies beat each other up. Some may see it as sexist, but I was always the guy in high school trying to break up a girl fight, while all the other guys were cussing at me to the let them go. “It’s natural for guys to get in the fight get a little blood here and here. My daughter Gina’s a beautiful young woman, I really don’t like seeing people trying to mess that up,” Glenn Carano, Gina’s father said on ESPN.

Perhaps that’s a better explanation. Nevertheless, in a few nights, we’ll get to see if the mainstream American television audience is ready to watch a night of mixed martial arts - I think the numbers for UFC on Spike TV, say it will. Will also find out if the mainstream is ready to watch the ladies duke it out - I’ll be watching through my fingers to tell you the truth, but, like just about everyone else I think, I’ll be watching. Then again, myself and Mr. Carano are guys, the target demographic for MMA. Who knows where the ladies can take the sport?

If nothing less, sex and violence certainly sell. If nothing more, Gina Carano is a star on the rise - somebody I think everybody will be watching.