After Monday’s surprising rumors of Bellator scooping up women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano, Bellator President Scott Coker spoke with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani regarding the negotiations and the promotion potentially reintroducing women’s MMA to its shows.
According to Coker, Bellator is, indeed, negotiating with Gina Carano at this time and is mulling over a return to promoting women’s MMA. Carano is the latest in a long list of identifiable names that have been tied to Bellator, a lot which includes the likes of popular European strikers Paul Daley and Melvin Manhoef, as well as Carano’s former co-worker from EliteXC, Kimbo Slice.
Should Carano come to terms with Bellator, the promotion would likely opt to build a 145-pound division around her star power. Carano still owns a fair degree of fame and would instantly become one of Bellator’s most identifiable stars. However, the crop of female talent at 145 pounds remains thin, leaving Carano with few potential opponents.
While Carano seemingly retired after being defeated by Cris “Cyborg” Justino, she has consistently refused to close the door on her MMA career. Recently, she has been locked in serious negotiations with the UFC, angling for a title shot opposite the UFC’s leading lady, Ronda Rousey. While the fight remains a serious blockbuster, Bellator would likely offer Carano more freedom in terms of pursuing her acting career and fighting at 145 pounds.
It is worth noting that should Bellator sign Carano, this would not be their first foray into women’s MMA. Bellator previously had a women’s strawweight division which saw the likes of Megumi Fujii, Zoila Frausto, Felice Herrig, Jessica Aguilar and Carla Esparza all compete. The title would eventually fade away, giving way to a flyweight division that added the likes of Jessica Eye and The Ultimate Fighter 18 runner-up Jessica Rakoczy.
Eventually, however, Bellator would dissolve the division, with most of the fighters moving on to either Invicta FC or the UFC.
Keep an eye on Bleacher Report for more news on Carano and Bellator as it becomes available.
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