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Dana White: 'UFC will sign Gina Carano next week'

Dana White promises that Gina Carano will be signed to fight in the UFC by next week. (MMA Weekly)

Former Strikeforce star Gina Carano hasn't fought in over five years but UFC president Dana White promises that his promotion will sign her to a contract in the coming week. Evidently high off of signing top bantamweight prospect Holly Holm to the UFC this week, White is confident that he will ink the crossover star within days.

"One down, one to go," White recently told ESPN.

"I'm going to meet with Gina next week and get that [expletive] thing done. Next week, man."

The UFC has reportedly negotiated with Carano and her team for months and, according to White, the details and her signing are now simply a formality. "It's just a matter of me and [UFC co-owner] Lorenzo [Fertitta]  going to jump on a plane to Los Angeles, get in a room with her and her lawyer and get this thing done." 

Carano has not fought since losing via TKO to Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino in August of 2009 and has gone on to a busy film career. "Conviction" also had trouble making 145 and 150 pound weight limits for fights in the past so it is still unclear if she would or could make the UFC bantamweight limit of 135 pounds or if the promotion would allow her to fight at a higher, currently non-existent weight for them.

Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has said in the past that she would make an exception and fight at a higher weight in order to take on Carano. According to White, Carano wants the fight with Rousey badly.

"There is no doubt about it, she wants to fight," he said.

"And she wants to fight Ronda." 

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