Tag: Gina Carano

Dana White: ‘I Think We’re Close’ to Signing Gina Carano

UFC President Dana White thinks a huge announcement about adding a familiar face to his women’s bantamweight division is forthcoming in the next few weeks. 
Speaking to a slew of media at the UFC Fight Night 48 post-fight press conference, White s…

UFC President Dana White thinks a huge announcement about adding a familiar face to his women’s bantamweight division is forthcoming in the next few weeks. 

Speaking to a slew of media at the UFC Fight Night 48 post-fight press conference, White said he’s “close” to signing women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano after months of ongoing negotiations (per MMA Fighting). 

‘Yeah it’s complicated, but I think we’re close. I think we’re close … I don’t know. I had plans, but now I don’t know,’ White said about a possible Ronda Rousey vs. Carano championship fight. ‘We have to see how this thing plays out. Like I said, I wouldn’t know more about that until September. First week of September I should have more answers.’

Carano hasn’t fought inside the cage for five years, her most recent bout being a lopsided TKO loss to then-Strikeforce featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (now Justino, following a divorce). 

The 32-year-old bombshell has traded in the rash guards and fight shorts in favor of high-profile roles on the silver screen: starring in action flicks such as In the Blood, Fast and Furious 6 and Haywire.

However, the rumors of Carano making a return to the cage have been swirling since the spring, with White and Rousey—the UFC women’s bantamweight champ—stating they are all for a Rousey vs. Carano showdown. 

As fight fans anxiously awaited the world’s premiere mixed martial arts organization to announce a new deal with Carano, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently revealed he had reached out to Carano to see if she’d be interested in joining Bellator, per The MMA Hour‘s Ariel Helwani (via MMA Fighting). 

However, Coker also said that Carano seemed more interested in competing at bantamweight than featherweight (Bellator‘s only women’s division), so a deal seemed relatively unlikely for now. 

While Carano has made 135 pounds once, it was back in June 2006, and she has fought as heavy as 150 pounds since then in eight career fights.

Therefore, Coker‘s remarks have to be considered at least a little surprising. 

Will Carano finally become a part of the UFC roster by mid-September, or has the time for her to sign on a dotted line come and gone by now?

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

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Bellator MMA Negotiating with Gina Carano, Considering Return to Women’s MMA

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 …

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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Scott Coker Denies Rumors That Gina Carano Has Signed With Bellator


(No man has ever escaped Gina’s mount. Of course, no man has ever *tried* to escape it, but still, that’s an impressive stat. / Photo via Collider)

Yesterday, Bellator middleweight Brian Rogers alerted his friends, fans, and haters that Bellator would be making a “major fight announcement” today. This came on the heels of a rumor-tweet from Hector Castro suggesting that Gina Carano and Marloes Coenen had signed with Bellator. Naturally, we freaked out.

Sadly, the official line from Bellator is that Carano has not signed with the organization. Via Ariel:


(No man has ever escaped Gina’s mount. Of course, no man has ever *tried* to escape it, but still, that’s an impressive stat. / Photo via Collider)

Yesterday, Bellator middleweight Brian Rogers alerted his friends, fans, and haters that Bellator would be making a “major fight announcement” today. This came on the heels of a rumor-tweet from Hector Castro suggesting that Gina Carano and Marloes Coenen had signed with Bellator. Naturally, we freaked out.

Sadly, the official line from Bellator is that Carano has not signed with the organization. Via Ariel:

Indeed. MMA fans still love Gina — but most of us recognize that sacrificing her to Ronda Rousey for a meaningless yet profitable UFC title fight is a joke on multiple levels. Still, what if Carano took a couple fights in Bellator against some lower-level competition? You’d watch that too, right? And the sudden appearance of Gina Carano in Bellator could create a competitive frenzy between the UFC and Bellator that would be pretty damn entertaining to watch unfold. So yes, we want to believe.

We’ll update you when Bellator’s actual major fight announcement is revealed. Don’t get your hopes up.

Rumor: Gina Carano Set to Join Bellator MMA, Could Face Marloes Coenen

The months of contract negotiations between the UFC and women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano have taken a surprising turn, with rumors swirling that Carano has joined Bellator MMA. Per Mookie Alexander of Bloody Elbow, the rumbles started Mon…

The months of contract negotiations between the UFC and women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano have taken a surprising turn, with rumors swirling that Carano has joined Bellator MMA. Per Mookie Alexander of Bloody Elbow, the rumbles started Monday, saying that Bellator had come to terms with “Conviction” and were planning to announce their deal the Tuesday, and that she would face former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen.

The discussion is something of a shocker. A fight between Carano and UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has long been regarded as an inevitability, and the matchup remains one of the biggest fights the UFC is capable of putting together.

Don’t get too excited, however, as MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani is saying sources close to the situation believe this is not the case:

Carano was American MMA’s first female star, and she converted a well-publicized run in EliteXC into a modestly successful acting career. When the promotion collapsed and was acquired by Strikeforce, she fought for their inaugural women’s featherweight championship, losing to Cris “Cyborg” Justino in lopsided fashion. 

That 2009 loss seemingly marked the end of her MMA career, as she began receiving steady work in Hollywood, most prominently starring in the 2011 action flick Haywire. However, Carano has remained close to the MMA scene and has consistently denied claims that she was retired from combat sports.

Keep in mind, this would not be the first major free-agent coup pulled off by Bellator’s new president, Scott Coker. Coker’s former promotion, Strikeforce, turned MMA upside down by scooping up the legendary Fedor Emelianenko when, once again, a move to the UFC felt like an inevitability given the fact that Bellator has been actively seeking out fan-favorite free agents like Kimbo Slice and Melvin Manhoef.

Keep an eye on Bleacher Report for more details on this story as they become available.

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Ronda Rousey: Gina Carano Is Capable of Knocking Me out with 1 Punch

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is convinced that Gina Carano would be her biggest test to date inside the cage—even though the women’s MMA pioneer hasn’t fought in five years.
In an in-depth interview with ESPN The Magazine, the “…

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is convinced that Gina Carano would be her biggest test to date inside the cage—even though the women’s MMA pioneer hasn’t fought in five years.

In an in-depth interview with ESPN The Magazine, the “Rowdy” one explained why the fellow fighter/movie star could still provide a stiff challenge in a potential fight. 

My coach said from the start that Gina is the worst style matchup for me. I’m not just saying that. I don’t have to worry about fighters outmuscling or overwhelming me or catching me on the mat. The only thing I have to worry about is the one-punch knockout … And out of all of the women in MMA, Gina has the best feel for distance and timing. That’s not something you lose because you made a couple of movies. You’ll always have that. And she was the first girl I ever saw that had a one-punch standing knockout.

Carano, whose last bout was a one-sided TKO at the hands of Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino in August 2009, began her career with back-to-to back knockouts in 2006. 

However, she only achieved one stoppage in her next five victories—a TKO via a doctor stoppage against Kaitlin Young in May 2008. 

Since then, Carano has traded in the rash guards and gloves for the silver screen, starring in action flicks such as Haywire, Fast & Furious 6 and In the Blood. 

Carano has been rumored to ink a deal with the UFC for months now, where she is expected to face Rousey right off the bat in December, per Yahoo Sports. 

UFC President Dana White said about three weeks ago that a contract with Carano was nearly complete, though she is yet to formally join the company roster as of this writing. 

As for Rousey, the dominant titleholder (10-0) has left the first round just once in her career and, after finishing her first eight opponents with her patented armbar, has recorded back-to-back TKO finishes over Sara McMann and Alexis Davis. 

Rousey awaits her next fight as she nurses a broken hand, though it is plausible she could fight one more time before the year ends. 

Would Rousey vs. Carano actually be a competitive affair or would it be another academic title defense for the champ that lasts under a minute?

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

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UFC on Fox 13: Why the December Show Should Be an All-Women’s Event

The UFC is coming back to Fox this winter. The network-television event would be the perfect opportunity for the UFC to promote its growing female divisions, and make new stars on its biggest platform.
The stars are aligning for a chance to make UFC on…

The UFC is coming back to Fox this winter. The network-television event would be the perfect opportunity for the UFC to promote its growing female divisions, and make new stars on its biggest platform.

The stars are aligning for a chance to make UFC on Fox 13 its biggest network card yet, and as the ratings stay at the low end—in spite of winning key demographics—there is a chance to regain a large audience with an all-female card.

The main cards of the Fox events have settled into a routine of having four fights per event. We will keep with this trend for this hypothetical all-female event.

First and foremost, The Ultimate Fighter season 20 will be debuting this fall. The reality show features the newly minted 115-pound division, and the two finalists will meet for the inaugural strawweight championship. Why waste this historic bout on Fox Sports 1? Give it co-main event billing on Fox.

The UFC will also need to quickly establish the next contender to the title. Strawweights Claudia Gadelha and Joanna Jedrzejczyk both looked fantastic in their wins during the first two 115-pound bouts in the UFC. It makes sense that this fight would be for the No. 1 contender fight. Make it the main card opener and the UFC will have established its next title contender before the title fight has happened.

What would make for a great third main card fight?

How about the debut of Holly Holm or a No. 1 contender’s fight for the 135-pound championship?

If Cat Zingano defeats Amanda Nunes at UFC 178, she will be the next title contender, but if she loses that, it opens the door for a title eliminator. The winner of Sara McMann vs. Lauren Murphy could take on Nunes or Sarah Kaufman for that honor.

The debut of Holm could headline the preliminary card if that happens, or she can debut on national network television should Zingano win and lay claim to the next title shot.

This only leaves one fight to fill— the main event.

Who could headline UFC on Fox 13 to generate enough interest to make it the biggest televised card ever? What fight is out there that would draw enough mainstream interest to make this a card no casual fan would miss? You already know the answer.

Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano.

When Carano fought on national television for EliteXC, it captivated the nation. Rousey has done the same, but has not been placed on free TV. Rousey vs. Carano would do great business on PPV there is little doubt about that. However, it would do everyone a greater service if it was in primetime.

There will not be competition from college football on December 13th. It comes a week after the conference championship games conclude. That will put the spotlight on this event, and having Carano and Rousey headline it would be monstrous.

Advertisers would clamor for the TV spots for this all-women’s card. It would feature two premier title fights, and potentially two No. 1 contender fights.

Truthfully, the UFC has already seemingly torpedoed this idea by placing the event in Phoenix. No disrespect toward the lovely people of Arizona, but cities matter when you are booking top-tier cards. The UFC should look into moving the card to Las Vegas or Los Angeles for UFC on Fox 13 should they heed my advice.

The TUF finale is scheduled for December, but has no set date. There is no TUF Finale card booked yet. It would be simple enough to make UFC on Fox 13 the finale card with prelims airing on Fox Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass so that the growing network does not lose all the value they will have built with TUF 20.

There are 16 fighters in the house, and most if not all of those athletes will be signed to the UFC to fill out the division. If that is the case, and they all remain healthy, that would make seven bouts available for the Fight Pass and Fox Sports 1 preliminary action.

Making UFC on Fox 13 an all-women’s fight card with both titles on the line would emphasize the UFC’s commitment to their women’s divisions. It puts all of their talent on their biggest platform so they can catapult them in future events.

It would be a landmark event for the UFC and the sport in general. It would be great numbers, and be one of the few absolute must-see events. The UFC needs to explore this option and start making the necessary calls.

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