Is Gina Carano rust-proof?

Thanks to botched promotional care (courtesy of the curdled ProElite) and contract muck, Carano will have enjoyed a 10-month layoff by the time she and Santos square off. Even if that time was spent in the exclusive company of a heavy bag and blended oatmeal -- and it wasn’t -- Carano will have some timing issues to work out in the opening moments of the fight. There is no substitution in prizefighting for someone trying to take your head off. For a prize.

Are looks everything?

Remember how ripped up Linda Hamilton looked in “Terminator 2,” and how all anyone could discuss were her marbleized arms? If this training video is any indication, Santos will make Hamilton look like a plus-size model.

A welterweight championship bout between Nick Diaz and Jay Hieron could be scratched from this Saturday’s Strikeforce “Carano vs. Cyborg” at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. Diaz failed to appear for a pre-fight drug test Friday scheduled by the California State Athletic Commission to complete his re-licensing in the state, as first reported by www.f4wonline.com.

CSAC Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas informed Sherdog.com that the test has been re-scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday, but could not guarantee the results would be back in time to approve the bout. Diaz’s longtime trainer and manager, Cesar Gracie, is unsure that the fighter will make the appointment at all.

Gracie, who was notified by email Wednesday that Diaz would have to test last Thursday or Friday, said Diaz was caught off-guard by what he calls a change in policy.

According to Fanhouse, a welterweight title bout of excessive randomness between Nick Diaz and Jay Hieron has been added to Strikeforce’s August 15 card in San Jose, California.

Diaz was originally slated to fight Joe Riggs; Riggs pulled out citing an allergic reaction to medication. Hieron, you may recall, was part of the Hindenburg “Affliction: Trilogy” card that was TKOed last week via massive ineptitude. The Xtreme Couture fighter hasn’t lost in two years.

The card will have to make do with one less title bout, as Josh Thomson’s defense against Gilbert Melendez has been postponed -- for the second time -- due to injury. Melendez will face Mitsuhiro Ishida instead, in what should be a compelling sequel to their 2007 bout.

Fanhouse also reports that female combatant Erin Toughill, once believed to be competing on the same card, will instead be used as a break-glass emergency replacement in the event Gina Carano or Cristiane Santos suffer an injury. Being employed as a precautionary measure in this economy? Not too bad.

As if three championship bouts weren’t enough, Strikeforce will introduce another title tilt for its Aug. 15 card at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

As reported by MMAWeekly.com on Monday, abrasive Stockton native Nick Diaz will face the equally quarrelsome Joe Riggs for promotion’s newly minted welterweight title. Sources have revealed to Sherdog.com that the promotion will unveil the bout later this week, but it is a done deal.

The rematch will undoubtedly pick right up from the hospital corridors where this oil-and-vinegar couple treated medical personnel to a gratis bonus round following their UFC 57 contest in February 2006 (Riggs persevered in the Octagon with a unanimous decision before going back for seconds).

A storyline this one doesn’t lack, but what worries me is mathematics. I hope Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker and crew aren’t counting on quick turnarounds and have discussed logistics with Showtime for what is becoming a particularly lengthy night. With four title bouts touting the possibility of 25-minute durations, can this championship quartet play out on the presumed two-hour telecast? Will the show get an extra hour? Or will someone be booted to the undercard, and if so, who?

High off a victory over Scott Smith on Saturday -- pun fully intended -- Team Nick Diaz is making some ambitious claims. Trainer Cesar Gracie told FightHype.com that they’d welcome fights at 205 lbs. if the right offer came along.

“We would bulk him up a bit and let him fight the really big guys,” Gracie said. “I bet people would enjoy that … . He’s like the Gracie jiu-jitsu guys from the old school. He will fight in any weight class.”

Gracie also discussed the likelihood of Diaz moving back down to welterweight. Not encouraging news: Diaz has struggled at lower weights. He’s got a long, lean swimmer’s physique, and there’s just not much extra to carve off the bone when he hits 170.

Gracie, incidentally, seems to have jurisdiction over Strikeforce with Diaz, Jake Shields and Gil Melendez. That’s a nice hand to play come contract time.

Because the cycle never ends.

Q: Where does Phil Baroni go from here?

A: He’s an easy punch line, but Baroni has an obvious work ethic and respect for the sport. What he needs is to consider MMA less of a posedown competition and more a battle of technique. Whatever his conditioning routine has been for the past few years is clearly not the answer.

Q: Will Kevin Randleman fight again?

A: Yes. And he will swear he’s changed his training, his mindset and his approach. And we will all believe him.