Gina Carano's fight deal is close to completion according to UFC president Dana White. The company executive also promised "more answers" regarding "Conviction's" UFC contract by the first week of September.
News about Gina Carano's fight deal with the UFC came about in mid-July, after Dana White himself announced a supposed meeting with the female fighter's representatives. But the UFC executive admitted that it was not going to be an easy deal to make.
"It's complicated," White said in a late-July interview with ESPN. "I'm very positive about it, but it's complicated. I'm still working on it. That's all I can say."
On Saturday at UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau, China, Dana White spoke about Gina Carano's fight deal with the UFC once again. And similar to his previous interviews, he was not able to give out concise answers once again.
"It's complicated, but I think it's close," White simply said in an interview with MMAjunkie.
Gina Carano last fought in August 2009, against Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino for the women's featherweight title in the now defunct Strikeforce organization. Unfortunately, "Conviction" ended up losing the fight via first round TKO, in a dominant performance by her opponent.
Since then, Carano has taken an indefinite leave from fighting, and has appeared in films, most notably in the sixth installment of the "Fast & Furious" franchise.
However, amid the news of Gina Carano's fight deal with the UFC, fans have rightfully clamored for her to face reigning bantamweight champion "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey. The latter has fully welcomed this possible match-up.
"You ever heard the saying, 'Work until your idols become your rivals'? It would really be a dream come true to fight Gina," Rousey said during the UFC Macau pre-fight media event. "Not in a malicious sense. It's the highest form of respect that I could show to her, is to come and fight her and give her every single thing that I have."
Dana White, however, downplayed everyone's expectations on the match-up, adding that he will have a more concrete answer by the coming week.
"I had a plan, but now I don't know," White added. "We have to see how this plays out. As I said before, I should know in September - the first week of September."
