Dana White has persisted that he was close to signing Gina Carano for months now, at one point he stated it was only a matter of days. Time has gone by, seasons have even changed, and yet there is no Carano signings on any contracts. Does anyone still think she will sign? In interviews on Thursday, September 25th, White seemed annoyed that his efforts to satisfy his biggest female star, Ronda Rousey, by giving gifting her with her dream fight against Carano keep on failing.
Gina Carano’s Waiting Game Keeps on Waiting
White mentioned that Lorenzo Fertitta had advised him to not contact Carano’s manager while trying to get her under contract which poses the question, who has he been dealing with this whole time? It does not seem so unlikely that he has not been able to get the fighter turned actress to sign a contract if he is not dealing with her manager.
Carano’s last fight was a TKO loss to Cris Cyborg back in August 2009 which broke her undefeated 7-0 record. She then made the move to Hollywood when Steven Soderbergh, an acclaimed feature film director, contacted her in hopes of getting her to star in a movie he was writing specifically for her after being impressed with watching women’s MMA for the first time in Carano vs. Kedzie. Carano jumped at the opportunity and made Haywire with seasoned co-stars Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender and Ewan Mcgregor. The film was a flopped but she aimed for redemption by accepting a supporting role in Fast 6. Already a huge franchise, The Fast and the Furious did give her a lot of exposure. Last winter a small independent film was released on video on demand, In the Blood with Cam Gigandet was her least successful endeavor in the acting world to date.
According to Ariel Helwani, the reason for her reticence to sign with the UFC is due to the fact that she is already committed to two projects filming this winter. One is Bus 657 with Robert Deniro and Dave Bautista, currently in preproduction the feature should start filming by December. The other project however, is unknown. Her IMDB page (Internet Movie Database) which usually lists movies as soon as an actor is signed on to it does not have her on any other assignment except one for what has been nicknamed the Female Expendables, which has been on her page for 3 years and, by all accounts, is an idea still sitting on studio shelves.
Carano has not entered a ring or cage in over 5 years. She was the original ‘Face of Women’s MMA’ but, also fought at a time when this division was almost underground. The talent pool was nowhere near as deep or advanced as it is now, would it really be beneficial to her to come back? Certainly she would need more than just a training camp. The smart move if she does sign would be to be training full time for at least a year honing back her skills before even starting a training camp.
Then there remains the weight factor. While fighting under the now defunct Strikeforce banner, Carano had a hard time making featherweight (145lbs), White has said that he would be open for a Superfight between the former and current WMMA ambassadors but that would leave Carano without any ‘test fights’ against girls ranked lower in the division.
On the other hand, Cris Cyborg is getting ready for her next Invicta bought which she will take at bantamweight. White is still retiscent to sign her due to her use of steroids a few years back but, if she can make 135lbs, she could well be the fiercest opponent Rousey has ever faced. Ronda is always saying she isn’t afraid of anyone, Rousey vs Cyborg is a fight many would pay a lot to see. Both Carano and Cyborg could bring in big Pay-Per-View numbers, White may want to reconsider where he stands on Cyborg if he truly wants to test his superstar.
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