White still confident UFC will sign Carano, not so sure she's next for Rousey

SACRAMENTO – UFC President Dana White has been asked about Gina Carano for months now.

And for months, he’s said signing the former Strikeforce champion is close. On Saturday, naturally, he was asked again – and again said he hopes to have a deal done with Carano (7-1). Again, he said a deal should be imminent.

But after saying earlier this summer that signing Carano could lead to an instant title shot against UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, on Saturday he backpedaled a bit.

“I did at one point (believe Carano would get a title shot),” White said at post-event media scrum following Saturday’s UFC 177 in Sacramento. “I don’t know now. (Cat Zingano) is next in line. (And Bethe Correia) looked great tonight.”

White said Zingano (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) remains the top contender to challenge Rousey. Zingano earned that right with a win over Miesha Tate at the TUF 17 Finale in April 2013, but she’s been out ever since after knee surgery took her out of her fight with Rousey and a coaching spot on “TUF 18.” Zingano returns in a month to fight Amanda Nunes at UFC 178, and a win there would, in theory, keep her spot as the No. 1 in line.

Carano hasn’t fought since an August 2009 loss to Cristiane Justino, where she lost her Strikeforce featherweight title. Since then, she’s been seen on the silver screen, starring in movies like “Haywire” and “Fast & Furious 6.”

But in recent months, Carano has considered a return to the sport, and a fight between the former face of women’s MMA and Rousey, the current face of women’s MMA and one of the sport’s biggest stars overall has been appealing to pretty much all parties involved.

“There’s just one more little thing (in the negotiations),” White said. “It’s close, but it’ll be done (before the end of the year).”

The question then will be if Carano goes straight into a title fight – and what would potentially be one the biggest fights in UFC history.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.