Women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano says she is open to returning to the sport.
There have been rumours that the UFC is interested in signing Carano if the she decided to make a comeback and the former Strikeforce and EliteXC star recently broke her silence.
“I’ve never retired. I’ve never officially said that,” Carano told Damon Martin of FOX Sports.
Carano (7-1) hasn’t fought since a TKO loss to Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino in August 2009.
The 31-year-old is considered the first female superstar in MMA, but transitioned into a career in acting after her loss to Cyborg. She has starred in several movies, including the 2011 Steven Soderbergh film Haywire and 2013’s Fast & Furious 6, but has always kept a fighting career in the back of her mind.
“For some reason a part of me has always kept it open…if circumstances were right, and if it’s a good enough circumstance [I would return to the sport] because my first love is MMA,” Carano said. “It’s not something that I ever really like to share with people, it’s something that I did because it made me feel good. I had no idea how popular MMA was ever going to get. It’s just something that really straightened me out. It wasn’t yoga, it wasn’t anything else, and it still is something that I practice and I love to train.”
Carano competed in the 145-pound division and in catchweight bouts, picking up notable wins over eventual UFC veterans Julie Kedzie and Rosi Sexton along the way.
Currently the UFC’s only female divisions are bantamweight (135 pounds) and the strawweight division (115 pounds) that will debut later this year on The Ultimate Fighter 20.
“I’m more of a fan of MMA now than I’ve ever been,” Carano added. “I’m saying if the circumstance was right, I’d definitely consider it — if the circumstance were right.”
