Gina Carano has been rumored to be signing with the UFC for the past few months. Ever since she announced her interest to return to mixed martial arts earlier this year, UFC president Dana White has expressed confidence that he'd be able to sign the former Strikeforce star.
If and when she does enter the UFC, many expect Carano to fight women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey for the title. Rousey has openly stated that she wants Carano to be her next opponent. But with so many delays in the negotiations and up-and-coming contenders, it's looking less and less likely that Carano would get an immediate title shot when she joins the promotion.
"I did at one point (believe Carano would get a title shot)," White said at the post-fight media scrum following Saturday's UFC 177 in Sacramento. "I don't know now."
Meanwhile, Rousey might have moved on from Carano after calling out Bethe Correia on Saturday. Correia is coming off an impressive win at UFC 177 over Rousey's friend and training partner Shayna Baszler. With other potential opponents like former top contender Cat Zingano and former boxing world champion Holly Holm, an immediate title shot for Carano might not even make sense at this point.
Rousey said she hopes to fight at UFC 182 on Jan. 3. If Carano were to face Rousey on that card, she would have to sign a contract soon in order to have enough time to train for the bout. Carano last fought in 2009 and competed in the featherweight division her entire career. Back then she struggled to cut to 145 pounds, so it can be expected that she would need extra time to drop to the 135-pound limit to meet Rousey.
"There's just one more little thing (in the negotiations)," White said. "It's close, but it'll be done (before the end of the year)."
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