While fight fans are supposed to believe a showdown between UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano is beyond the realm of possibility, the potential matchup sure is a big conversation starter.
In a media scrum prior to the UFC 171 weigh-ins, “Rowdy” told reporters that she is all for squaring off with one of the pioneers of women’s MMA, per Fox Sports’ Marc Raimondi:
The former Olympic-medal winning judoka also wouldn’t mind if her title was on the line in a potential bout with Carano:
Rousey said at the scrum a late-summer fight would be fine, and she expects to face Cat Zingano.
White has not directly shot down reports that backroom meetings are taking place to finalize a Rousey vs. Carano bout, although he has brushed off the notion that the fight is in the cards, per MMA Fighting.
Additionally, he has acknowledged that Carano, who hasn’t fought since August 2009, still has four fights on her Zuffa contract (the UFC’s parent company) leftover from her Strikeforce deal.
Rousey is 9-0, with nine finishes, as a professional mixed martial artist. She most recently scored her first TKO over Sara McMann at UFC 170 in February.
Carano holds a 7-1 record inside the cage. Her sole loss came at the hands of Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, who is quickly becoming Rousey‘s top foe.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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