Where in the World is Gina Carano?

For the past five months, the MMA world has not seen the slightest bit of “the first lady of MMA” Gina Carano.

Since losing her bid for the Strikeforce women’s lightweight title to Christiane “Cyborg” Santos on Aug. 15, the Las Vegas native has been missing in action with no outlook as to when she will return to the sport.

Some might speculate that she was abducted by aliens and taken to another planet, never to be seen again. Others may think that some psychopathic, obsessed fanboys kidnapped her and have her tied up in their mother’s basement.

The possibilities are scary once you think about them.

Fear not ladies and gentleman (mostly gentleman), Gina Carano hasn’t been taken to another planet, nor is she the victim of some horrific act by a less than balanced fan.

Hollywood has taken up the time of many fighters within the sport of mixed martial arts and Carano just happens to be one of them.

Ryan Couture was able to provide some insight yesterday via email when he wrote, “I saw Gina briefly over the holidays and it sounds like she’s been working long days in preparation for her upcoming film role.”

Hollywood seems to wear out even the most conditioned of athletes. The time spent preparing for a fight is grueling, to say the least, but let’s not take anything away from the hours spent working in front of the camera.

“It won’t be until shooting wraps on that project that she’ll be able to shift her focus back to fighting.”, Ryan continued. “At the time that I spoke to her she didn’t have a timeframe [for her return] in mind but did mention that she missed training and was eager to get back to it.”

The general feeling is that a great deal of fans are anxious to see Carano return to the cage, and maybe even avenge her loss to Santos. The problem is that we will all have to wait until production of her next film is complete.

According to IMDB.com , Carano is set to take on a role in the movie Knockout which also stars GI Joe ’s Channing Tatum. Other actors rumored to perform in the film along side Carano are Ewan McGregor, Dennis Quaid, and screen legend Michael Douglas.

This is certainly a step up from her last role as Veretta in Blood and Bone where she worked along side known martial artist Michael Jai White. The film also featured MMA personalities Bob Sapp, Maurice Smith and Kimbo Slice.

Much like a handful of other mixed martial artists, Carano has attracted the eyes of film directors and producers alike. As one who brings a tremendous amount of charisma and charm to the sport of MMA, it only seems reasonable that Carano would have the same influence in Hollywood.

It does not hurt Carano’s case that she is one of most attractive women on the planet.

With Quinton “Rampage” Jackson set to star in The A-Team this summer, the trend of fighters transitioning to actors may grow in popularity.

Carano certainly makes a case as someone who can easily leave MMA and pursue other careers in the acting of modeling industry. Just look at her Maxim or ESPN magazine photo shoots.

Worst case scenario, Gina Carano will leave MMA for Hollywood. The bright side? No more watching her get punched in the face.