Dana White: Signing Holly Holm and Gina Carano Just About 'Getting a Deal Done'

UFC President Dana White is insistent that women's MMA pioneer Gina Carano, as well as undefeated prospect Holly Holm (7-0), will fight inside the Octagon one day soon. 

Working out a contract is just a formality in both situations, he says,  though he still isn't sure what's going to happen with Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino. 

White expressed his feelings about some of the most well-known female fighters outside the UFC on Wednesday's edition of UFC Tonight (transcription per MMA Mania). 

"

Obviously, we know all the issues we've had with ‘Cyborg,' from the steroid stuff to the managers, to we don't even have that weight class, so I don't even know when she would get into the UFC. Holly Holm and Gina Carano are all a matter of getting a deal done. I used to say never. I don't say never anymore.

"

Carano, who hasn't fought since a TKO loss to Santos in August 2009, met with White one month ago to discuss a potential return, but nothing appears to have come out of the meeting as of this writing, per MMA Fighting. 

UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey sees no issue with giving Carano a title shot right off the bat despite a long layoff from the cage, while other women in the division are not as welcoming. 

White said in March that he was no longer interested in dealing with Holm, a former three-division boxing champion, due to issues with her management, per Yahoo! Sports, but obviously he has changed his mind now. 

Finally, Santos has been engaging in a war of words with Rousey for the better part of the last year, receiving heavy criticism for testing positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid, after a quick knockout over Hiroko Yamanaka in December 2011. 

Since serving her 12-month suspension issued by the California State Athletic Commission, she has scored back-to-back TKO victories over Fiona Muxlow and Marloes Coenen under the Invicta banner. 

How soon will the UFC be able to add Carano, Holm and perhaps even Santos, to its women's bantamweight division? 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.