LOS ANGELES — The fight was over in a blink of an eye, but Ronda Rousey thinks the challenger who lasted just 14 seconds with her should get a rematch.
The UFC women’s bantamweight champion told Cat Zingano after submitting her with an armbar at UFC 184 on Saturday night here at Staples Center that she’d be willing to give her another shot.
“I said that we should do this again,” Rousey said at the post-fight press conference. “I think she definitely deserves another shot. Sometimes fights just go down like that. I’m lucky to have a lot of experience in judo and sometimes I walked out and I just got dumped on my head right away and I just wasn’t myself that day. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t deserve to be in that fight or I couldn’t beat that other person. It was just that for some reason I wasn’t there. I understand that feeling and I know that what Cat is capable of and I would definitely like to see more of what she’s capable of.”
Zingano (9-1) charged Rousey at the opening bell and tried to tackle her to the ground. It almost worked, too. Except Rousey reversed it, got on top and latched onto Zingano’s arm in transition quite slickly. Rousey (11-0) didn’t let go until Zingano was tapping.
“Please, don’t do your little magic and say I’m saying something I’m not — she’s good,” Zingano said. “She’s champion for a reason. But I didn’t go out there and perform to my best today and I got caught and that sucks and I’m pissed. I have a lot of respect for her. I was just stunned and speechless and caught in that moment.”
Zingano was supposed to be Rousey’s toughest test and on paper she was. The Colorado native’s foundation is solid wrestling, she’s a strong jiu-jitsu practicioner and is known mostly for technical — and powerful — Muay Thai. But Zingano didn’t get to use any of it. The fight was over too quickly.
“I was thinking of how many competitions I’ve been to, how many tournaments I’ve done throughout my life,” Zingano said. “You just have that much where you just go out and you get smoked. It’s not right.”
At one point during the press conference, Zingano turned to UFC president Dana White and all but begged to be put on track to get another title shot.
“I just want to know what I need to do to get in there again,” Zingano said. “Who’s No. 2? I’ll fight them. I’ll get back. How do I get this again?”
White responded: “I need fights. We’ll get it done. Whenever you’re ready.”
Zingano will almost certainly come back strong. She fought back after ACL surgery and the suicide of her husband to make it here, headlining in front of a sold-out crowd in one of the biggest media markets in the country. A 14-second blip of time isn’t likely to deter her from her goals and dreams.
“Some things in life you don’t get on the first shot,” Zingano said. “Some things take a few times. Some things take whatever. But as long as you keep trying until you get it and figure it out.
“Crap, it’s not always the easy road. I don’t often get the easy road, but I find my way around.”