Former MMA star Gina Carano lands role in ‘Deadpool’ alongside Ryan Reynolds

Don’t expect Gina Carano to be back in the cage any time soon.

The former women’s MMA star said last year that she was considering a return. But that might be a hard thing to pull off now given her jam-packed movie schedule.

Carano landed a role opposite Ryan Reynolds in “Deadpool,” The Hollywood Reporter reported Friday. The movie is based on the Marvel comic book and is being distributed by 20th Century Fox. Before she begins filming that, Carano will appear opposite Bruce Willis in another action flick called “Extraction.”

There were photos circulated on social media recently of Carano training at Combat Sports Academy in the Bay Area with Invicta FC star Zoila Frausto. Bellator MMA president Scott Coker, Carano’s former boss with Strikeforce, doesn’t seem to think the Hollywood starlet will be coming back to MMA in the near future. Coker spoke with Carano in recent months about fighting for Bellator, but her schedule right now is rather unwieldy.

“Movies on top of movies on top of movies,” Coker said. “I’m so proud of her. I’m so happy for her. She’s come such a long way. I’m excited to see her grow as an actress.”

Carano, 32, last fought in 2009, a loss to Cris Cyborg in Strikeforce. She was in negotiations last year with the UFC about a potential title bout against women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, but those fell through when the promotion could not come to a deal with her management.

It appears that the only fighting Carano will be doing coming up is on the big screen. In “Deadpool,” she’ll play a character called Angel Dust. It’s not quite clear what her relationship will be to Reynolds’ title character, but in the comics Angel Dust was part of an underground mutant group called The Morlocks and has the ability to gain superhuman strength for a short period of time.

Don’t expect Gina Carano to be back in the cage any time soon.

The former women’s MMA star said last year that she was considering a return. But that might be a hard thing to pull off now given her jam-packed movie schedule.

Carano landed a role opposite Ryan Reynolds in “Deadpool,” The Hollywood Reporter reported Friday. The movie is based on the Marvel comic book and is being distributed by 20th Century Fox. Before she begins filming that, Carano will appear opposite Bruce Willis in another action flick called “Extraction.”

There were photos circulated on social media recently of Carano training at Combat Sports Academy in the Bay Area with Invicta FC star Zoila Frausto. Bellator MMA president Scott Coker, Carano’s former boss with Strikeforce, doesn’t seem to think the Hollywood starlet will be coming back to MMA in the near future. Coker spoke with Carano in recent months about fighting for Bellator, but her schedule right now is rather unwieldy.

“Movies on top of movies on top of movies,” Coker said. “I’m so proud of her. I’m so happy for her. She’s come such a long way. I’m excited to see her grow as an actress.”

Carano, 32, last fought in 2009, a loss to Cris Cyborg in Strikeforce. She was in negotiations last year with the UFC about a potential title bout against women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, but those fell through when the promotion could not come to a deal with her management.

It appears that the only fighting Carano will be doing coming up is on the big screen. In “Deadpool,” she’ll play a character called Angel Dust. It’s not quite clear what her relationship will be to Reynolds’ title character, but in the comics Angel Dust was part of an underground mutant group called The Morlocks and has the ability to gain superhuman strength for a short period of time.