UFC President Dana White, who until only recently gave a bleak outlet for the possibility of women's MMA in the UFC, may be softening his stance.

And EliteXC star Gina Carano is to thank.

During the UFC's recent stop in Toronto on the UFC 94: St Pierre vs Penn 2 press tour, White said he's willing to put Carano in the WEC to "test the waters" of women's MMA.

"Gina Carano is a star, and I think she's talented," White said. "I think she has all the tools, so what I'm willing to do is bring Gina into the WEC. We could do fights whenever there's a challenge for Gina. That's how I'll test the waters and see how it goes."

The most obvious challenge for Carano is currently Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. In fact, the two fighters, who are currently tied up in a mess created when ProElite Inc. claimed it was ceasing operations (only to deny the statement weeks later), had been on a collision course for a future EliteXC card. As MMAjunkie.com previously reported, EliteXC officials were even considering the bout for the company's pay-per-view debut.

While a recent guest on ESPN's "MMA Live!," White said he'd consider the Carano-Santos fight for the UFC's sister promotion.

"I wouldn't be opposed to [the fight]," White said. "And if I did do it, I'd probably do it in the WEC."

The UFC will first have to wait to see how ProElite's legal situation shakes out. The company, which canceled its Nov. 8 show and ceased promotional operations at the end of October, until recently was attempting to thwart Showtime's plan to sell ProElite's remaining assets at public auction.

Showtime has claimed rights to ProElite's "tangible and intangible" assets after the company defaulted on two promissory notes of $4 million that it lent to the company in June and September. The premium cable company notified the public markets earlier this month of its intentions to auction off those assets, which include fighter contracts, on Nov. 17.

However, when a group of agents led by the likes of Ken Pavia and Monte Cox banded together for a united front and threatened to challenge the legality of any sale, Showtime postponed the auction.

The fighters, including Carano and Santos, now remain in a state of limbo.

In any manner, White's current comments are a far departure from his past feelings.

In early 2007, the UFC head said, "I'm not a huge fan of women fighting. Period."

Since then his reasons not to get involved in women's MMA have been plentiful. He's cited everything from the lack of talent in the women's ranks to the lack of quality with their fights to the social stigma attached with women fighting.

Carano, though, has proven to be the exception to the norm. With solid skills, good looks, a strong following and a track record of drawing solid TV ratings, she could certainly boost the WEC's efforts on Versus.

Source: mmajunkie.com