If Dana White gets his wish, Ronda Rousey’s next opponent will be Gina Carano.
The UFC president told reporters in Ireland Friday that he is meeting with Carano early next week for contract talks.
Carano (7-1) is considered the first female MMA superstar, but hasn’t fought competitively since a TKO loss to Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino in Strikeforce in August 2009.
“There’s not a workout I go through that I’m not fighting someone in my mind,” Carano, who never stopped her MMA training, said back in April. “It’s never gone away…It’s something I can do that makes everything else disappear. I dream about it. I just didn’t know if I was ever going to get an opportunity to make a comeback.”
The 32-year-old transitioned into a career in acting following her loss to Cyborg. She has starred in several movies, including the 2011 Steven Soderbergh film Haywire and 2013’s Fast & Furious 6.
Rousey, the current face of women’s MMA and arguably the biggest active star in the UFC, has said she looked up to Carano and would be willing to fight her. Rousey, who has also appeared on the silver screen, told reporters in March that taking on Carano “would be a real milestone for the sport.”
The women’s bantamweight champion is 10-0 and coming off the fastest win of her career — a 16-second knockout of Canadian Alexis Davis at UFC 175. Earlier this week, Rousey was named Best Female Athlete at the ESPYs. The 27-year-old is currently dealing with hand and knee injuries, but is expected to fight at least one more time in 2014.
White added that if he gets a deal with Carano done, a fight with Rousey could take place in December.
“Ronda’s been very good to us, and if that’s the fight she wants, then I’m going to try to get it done,” White said.
