By Sean Farrell

According to an announcement during Saturday’s Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix-Fedor-vs-Silva broadcast, former title contender and MMA’s sweetheart Gina Carano (7-1 MMA) will return to Strikeforce in 2011. The fighter-turned-model-turned-actress will likely return this summer, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said during Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I knew in her heart she wanted to fight again. She will be fighting in the summertime — in June, most likely.” Coker said. An opponent has not been mentioned or named for Carano’s return to Strikeforce.

Gina Carano was last seen in August 2009 as a contender for the vacant Strikeforce 145-pound women’s title against Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (10-1 MMA). Even with the highly skilled Carano has held a superior striking advantage over her opponents, the case against Santos was quite the opposite. The Brazilian “Cyborg” started on Carano early in the first round with Santos outstriking Carano in every facet of the fight. Carano flashed briefly but purely on fight or flight response, until “Cyborg” made her claim as the most dominant female in MMA dominating Carano and striking her way to a TKO stoppage with only one second remaining in the round.

Before her loss to “Cyborg”, Carano had won seven consecutive fights dating back to her professional MMA debut in 2006. The Xtreme Couture product has also finished over half of her fights by either knockout or submission. Outside of the cage, the beautiful 28-year-old Carano has found a nitch as an actress, her first appearance was performing as “Crush” in the remake of American Gladiators before transitioning to a career in film. Carano’s next role will be her first to be seen on the “Big Screen” in Steven Soderbergh’s picture Haywire scheduled to be released in theaters April 22.

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