A potential women’s matchup between fan favorite Gina “Conviction” Carano (7-1) and Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio (4-1) has been confirmed for the upcoming Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum event in Dallas next month.
MMAFighting.com has confirmed the matchup with sources close to the fight, saying the bout is “essentially a done deal” and could see Strikeforce officials announce the bout early next week.
Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum is scheduled to take place on June 18 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The event features the remaining two quarterfinal bouts of the Strikeforce Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament featuring matches between champ Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum, and Brett Rogers vs. Josh Barnett.
Carano hasn’t been in the cage since her TKO loss to Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos in August of 2009, opting to follow a career in acting. She is set to star in “Haywire” a new spy thriller movie directed by Steven Soderbergh later this summer. “Conviction” has returned to training and has moved her camp from the Xtreme Couture gym to Greg Jackson’s gym to train for the bout.
D’Alelio enters the fight on a loss, a decision defeat to Julie Kedzie last December at a Jackson’s MMA Series event. All five of her professional fights occurred in 2010, with “The Monster” winning her first four pro fights, earning three submission victories and one TKO win.