It appears the Gina Carano lottery has finally produced a winning ticket.
The one-time "face of women's MMA" will make her return to the Strikeforce cage on June 18 in Dallas, Texas, when she takes on submission specialist Sarah D'Alelio.
MMA Fighting reports the bout is "now essentially a done deal" and could be announced as early as next week.
Carano (7-1) hasn't seen action since a first round beatdown at the hands of Brazilian "Cyborg" Cristiane Santos back in August 2009. Following the loss, "Conviction" took a break from competition to star in the upcoming "Haywire" movie from director Steven Soderbergh.
She told fans earlier this year she was planning her MMA return to "prove something to herself," but she'll have to prove it to the venerable D'Alelio as well.
"The Monster" had a busy 2010 fight campaign, racking up five fights in a span of ten months and going 4-1 in the process. D'Alelio was last seen on the losing end of a unanimous decision against Julie Kedzie at Jackson's MMA: "Series 3" last December.
Her fight against Carano represents a major leap in competition but it could also put her on the map if she manages to upset the returning favorite.
Strikeforce: "Overeem vs. Werdum" will feature the continuation of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix as division champion Alistair Overeem tries to eliminate Fabricio Werdum while fellow PRIDE veteran Josh Barnett takes on the hard-hitting Brett Rogers.
For the current Strikeforce fight card and line-up for the June 18 event in the "Lone Star State" click here.
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