Carano shooting movie with De Niro, White says Rousey fight not likely
Gina Carano is shooting two movies this year, and UFC president Dana White characterized negotiation with her management as the most difficult ever.
Dave Meltzer reports that Gina Carano is shooting two movies this year, at the very least delaying a potential fight with UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. Carano, 32, is filming Bus 657, along with the somewhat unlikely pair of Robert DeNiro and Dave Bautista. DeNiro is of course one of the most celebrated actors of his generation, while Bautista earned his chops in acting of a markedly different sort, as Batista in the WWE.
Bautista, a one-time MMA fighter, played Drax the Destroyer in the 2014 Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy. He will star as the villain Tong Po in the reboot of the 1989 martial arts film Kickboxer, opposite former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
Carano was the original face of WMMA, and a fight with Rousey is expected to generate enormous fan interest. Carano was involved in several of the most watched MMA fights in US history including EliteXC: Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young on CBS on 5/31/2008 (5.508 million viewers), EliteXC: Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobold on CBS on 10/4/08 (5.171 million viewers). While WMMA has not generally achieved the same success that men’s MMA has, Carano is the exception. For example, her final fight, vs. Cris “Cyborg” enjoyed the highest ratings MMA ever did on Showtime at the time.
Carano’s profile has only raised by her Hollywood career. A fight with Rousey would be a tremendous commercial success, but it looks like Rousey’s next challenger is going to come within the current roster, most likely Cat Zingano, if she has a good showing against Amanda Nunez at UFC 178 on Saturday, live on PPV.
At a media event today, UFC president Dana White confirmed that a Carano vs. Rousey fight is becoming increasing unlikely, blaming her representation for making it “the hardest human being we’ve ever dealt with.”
Given the White dealt with Fedor, whose management demands sunk multiple companies, that is saying a lot. White has removed himself from the negotiations; ZUFFA CEO Lorenzo Fertitta will be trying to complete the deal.
“I didn’t see it coming,” said White as transcribed by Brett Okamoto. “Dealing with her people, I just don’t even know if it can be done.”
“We’ve paid insane financial demands (before). We’ve had all the biggest superstars in the world. You’re talking about a girl who hasn’t fought in a while. Any time you deal with anybody in Hollywood, it’s a joke. It’s literally a joke. It’s comical. You feel like you’re in a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit.”
