Cat
Zingano appears to have put herself in line for a late-career
title shot in the
Bellator
MMA women’s featherweight division.
“Alpha” will attempt to stay on her current trajectory when she
confronts
Leah
McCourt in the
Bellator
293 co-main event on Friday at the Pechanga Resort and Casino
in Temecula, California. Zingano, who turns 41 in a matter of
months, steps into the cage on the strength of a three-fight
winning streak. She last appeared at Bellator 282, where she took a
three-round unanimous decision from former
Invicta Fighting Championships and
King of
the Cage titleholder
Pam
Sorenson in their June 24 pairing.
As Zingano puts the final touches on preparation for her upcoming
battle with McCourt at 145 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries
that have helped chart her course to this point:
The undefeated Zingano cemented herself as the No. 1 contender in
the
Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division
when she stopped former
Strikeforce
titleholder
Miesha Tate
with a series of third-round knees and a follow-up elbow strike as
part of “The Ultimate Fighter 17” Finale on April 13, 2013 at the
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. A bloody and weary Tate
succumbed to blows 2:55 into Round 3. Zingano weathered a difficult
start, as “Cupcake” had the Coloradan on her heels with punches,
takedowns and ground-and-pound. The momentum began to shift late in
the second round. There, Zingano escaped an attempted heel hook,
settled in top position and unleashed elbows and punches from
above. In the third, Zingano struck for an immediate takedown,
softened Tate with more ground-and-pound and then let loose with
knees when the Washington native rose to her feet. A final standing
elbow dropped Tate to her knees and led referee Kim Winslow to
intervene.
Zingano kept her perfect professional record intact and did so in
exhilarating fashion when she took out
Amanda
Nunes with mounted ground-and-pound in the third round of their
UFC 178 women’s bantamweight showcase on Sept. 27, 2014 at the MGM
Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The end came 1:21 into Round 3.
Nunes emptied her gas tank in the first round, where she took down
the former Ring of Fire champion and battered her with heavy,
relentless ground-and-pound. Zingano withstood the assault and drew
the Brazilian into deeper waters. Nunes had nothing left when it
mattered most. In the third round, Zingano achieved full mount,
opened a nasty gash on the side of her counterpart’s head with a
well-placed elbow and sealed it with unanswered shots from the
top.
Misguided aggression did not serve Zingano well when Rousey
submitted her with an armbar in the first round of their brief UFC
184 headliner and retained the Ultimate Fighting Championship
women’s bantamweight crown on Feb. 28, 2015 at the Staples Center
in Los Angeles. It was over in just 14 seconds. The previously
unbeaten Zingano fired a flying knee right out of the gate and
wandered recklessly into the clinch. She tossed Rousey to the
canvas with an ill-advised throw, but the champion scrambled
immediately to the back, pinned the challenger’s exposed limb
underneath her armpit and calmly cranked on the maneuver for the
finish. It remains the only submission defeat on the Zingano
resume.
Pena climbed into a new tax bracket in the Ultimate Fighting
Championship women’s bantamweight division, as “The Ultimate
Fighter 18” winner overcame some early adversity to claim a
unanimous decision over Zingano in the featured UFC 200 prelim on
July 9, 2016 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. All three judges
struck 29-28 scorecards. Zingano controlled the first five minutes
with takedowns, top control and ground-and-pound. Pena was
undeterred. She flipped the switch in Round 2, where she reversed a
takedown, advanced to Zingano’s back, set her hooks and fished for
the rear-naked choke. Though her bid failed, momentum was hers. She
picked up where she left off in the third round, executing a
takedown inside the first 10 seconds before hammering away at
Zingano with ground-and-pound and again shifting to her back. Pena
entered the cage as a +155 underdog and exited as a newly minted
contender at 135 pounds.