Gina Carano Close to Signing With Strikeforce, Still Hopes to Fight for Zuffa

Since the demise of EliteXC last October, Gina Carano has remained relatively quiet. The female mixed martial arts fighter is one of the biggest stars in the sport and it seems like every day someone’s talking about her proposed super-fight with Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.

Of course, before fans finally get a chance to see Carano vs. Santos, the Xtreme Couture fighter has to agree to terms with the San Jose-based Strikeforce organization. Strikeforce purchased Carano’s contract from EliteXC earlier this year, but she has yet to officially sign with the promotion.

Carano spoke to FanHouse about why her contract negotiations are taking so long and the possibility of fighting in the UFC or WEC.

Ariel Helwani: Have you signed with Strikeforce yet?
Gina Carano: No, I have not signed with Strikeforce, but the contract’s getting negotiated right now and as soon as it’s signed I will let you know.

What exactly is the hold-up?
You know, I will probably be able to talk about it after the fact, but maybe that’s just me finding an excuse not to talk about it (laughs). I feel like while things are going on, it’s probably smart just to put your head down and work instead of talk about things, so I’ll talk about it later.

When Strikeforce had their first press conference to announce the Showtime deal a couple of months ago, it seemed to me that CEO Scott Coker took a small shot at you publicly by essentially saying that training camp had started and you were holding out. What did you make of that?
I’ve read certain interviews and heard certain things, but I’ve said this a lot, I’m not into the game-playing. I’m not saying that Scott Coker is doing that, but I have been around long enough to know that you just have to put your head down and work and do the best for yourself. So, if somebody’s trying to call you out or challenge you