A Ronda Rousey Gina Carano matchup is still possible, says Randy Couture, but it might hurt Carano's career.

Fight fans have been dreaming of a Ronda Rousey Gina Carano match for years now. With the latter confirmed to come back to the UFC after a five-year hiatus, hopes are rekindled.

Randy Couture says the match is unlikely, though, at least as Carano's first in her reentry in the UFC. Couture says she needs to catch up to speed technically, considering her break from the sport.

Couture doesn't downplay Carano's skills, far from it. In an interview with mmafighting.com: "I have not gotten a chance to talk to Gina and she hasn't really reached out to new me about that situation. I think she's as capable as any athlete that I've been around."

Couture doesn't think a Ronda Rousey Gina Carano fight is a good first match for Carano, though.

"Technically, it's a very interesting matchup. [Gina]'s a very, very good striker. We've not really seen Ronda Rousey face a solid striker like Gina Carano. I think if Gina had an Achilles heel, even when she was at her peak over five years ago, it was the grappling side of things. So, my sincere hope is that they give her a chance to get up to speed, get back into top fight shape and really kind of shore up her grappling technique and that side of her game, and then it would be an amazing fight."

Carano has transitioned into film, enjoying moderate success in action roles opposite A-list celebrities and in blockbuster movies. Couture adds it's her personal decision to return to the octagon in spite of this.

"I think it's a personal decision. I think if she's got more to do or feels like she has more to do in that cage, then she needs to settle that and come back, make a run at it and do it 100 percent. But those are personal decisions. It's not for me to say."

A Ronda Rousey Gina Carano is possible, it's only a question of whether Carano will stay long enough after her return for a match to be set up.