Gina Carano Tells Arsenio Hall She Wants to Return to MMA, Set to Meet UFC's Dana White Next Week
Rumors continue to swirl around reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey regarding her next opponent, with many speculating that she may face former Strikeforce women's middleweight champion Gina Carano at the UFC 175 pay-per-view.
Rousey, who remains undefeated with a 9-0 inside the Octagon, has been looking for a worthy challenger after disposing Miesha Tate (third-round submission via arm-bar) and Sara McMann (first-round TKO win) in her last two matches.
While Cat Zigano is the number one contender for Rousey's title, Zingano is still rehabbing from major complete ACL replacement knee surgery and dealing with the death of her husband. Former Strikeforce women's middleweight champion and current Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg has said she willl consider dropping weight class if UFC president Dana White gives her a title shot against Rousey. Former boxer Holly Holm, who is 6-0 since starting her mixed martial arts (MMA) career, was another name floated around only to be shot down by White.
"Not interested whatsoever," White said to "UFC Tonight's" Ariel Helwani regarding the possibility of signing Holm, who has a title shot against Legacy FC featherweight champion Julianna Werner Friday night.
Carano went on the "The Arsenio Show" telling the host she misses competing in the cage every time she works out and plans to meet with White next week about a possible return. Carano has been retired since 2009 when she got crushed by Cyborg, losing via a first round TKO.
A potential Rousey-Carano mega-fight had MMA fans excited about the possible co-main event for UFC 175 after several web sites fell for an April Fool's gag saying that the two women would face off in a "bikinis only, jello MMA match." Despite the joke, Carano told Hall she misses the rush of competing.
"There's not a workout that I go through that I'm not fighting somebody in mind and it's never gone away," Carano told the late-night host. "You know, I love it. It's something I can do that makes everything else disappear and I dream about it. I just didn't know if I would ever get the place or the opportunity to make a comeback, so I'm either going to do it now or I'm going to retire and say 'I'm never going to do it.' So now is the moment, I feel."
Co-Event for Weidman vs. Machida
The proposed Rousey-Carano match would reportedly serve as the co-main event to the UFC middleweight championship showdown between Chris Weidman and "The Dragon" Lyoto Machida at UFC 175. Weidman's title defense against Machida was pushed from UFC 173 to UFC 175 after the champion had to undergo minor surgery.
Weidman was originally slated to face Vitor Belfort, but the challenger backed out of the fight after the Nevada State Athletic Commission banned testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) saying he needed time for his body to adjust to the new rules. Machida was slated to step in for Belfort after winning four of his last five fights including knocking out Mark Munoz and earning a a decision victory over Gegard Mousasi.
"Machida is a dangerous fighter and he knows what it takes to become champion," Weidman said in a statement after learning the identity of his new opponent. "He's been on my radar since he dropped to 185, so I'm looking forward to defending my title against him in May."
UFC 175 is slated on July, 5 2014 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev.