UFC 184, headlined by the highly anticipated bout between bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (10-0, 10 finishes) and undefeated challenger Cat Zingano (9-0, eight finishes), should prove to be an explosive, entertaining card befitting its esteemed Staples Center location and prime Saturday night pay-per-view slot.
Rousey‘s eminently bankable persona has turned this card into more than just a main-event spectacle. Including the full preliminary fight slate before the pay-per-view, there are 11 fights set to take place in Los Angeles California on Feb. 28.
The co-main event, between Holly Holm and Raquel Pennington, make this an historic occasion, as the female fighters are indeed carrying the card.
Brian Martin of the Los Angeles Daily News (h/t Denver Post) elaborates further on the significance of this card, as well as how the unique structure came to pass:
But here we are, with billboards of Rousey and Zingano, who fights out of Broomfield, plastered all over Southern California, and fellow bantamweights Holly Holm and Raquel Pennington in the co-main event. Granted, it took an injury to middleweight champion Chris Weidman, postponing his main-event bout with Vitor Belfort to elevate the women’s bouts. The UFC was confident in its female fighters and their division to carry the card, which includes nine other bouts — all featuring men.
For those who can’t imagine missing out on this potentially landmark UFC event, here’s a complete rundown of the viewing schedule, followed by predictions for the entire fight card.
UFC 184 PPV Schedule
Date: Saturday, Feb. 28
Fight Times (ET): Fight Pass at 7 p.m.; Fox Sports 1 prelims 8 p.m.; pay-per-view at 10 p.m.
Location: Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
Live Stream: UFC.tv
Can Zingano—Or Anyone Else—Ruin Rousey‘s Reign?
Zingano‘s aggressive, well-rounded fighting style should prove a worthy challenge to Rousey.
Zingano‘s stats during her time in the UFC ranks are indeed impressive, even as compared to Rousey‘s.
However, as excellent as Zingano has proven to be, Rousey often seems to operate on a higher plane of existence, cutting opponents down quickly and with fierce brutality, as Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times duly notes:
She has posted nine first-round victories. Her average fight time of 4 minutes, 17 seconds shatters the average length of a UFC bout, which is nearly 10 minutes. Rousey needed only 66 seconds to beat Sara McMann, a former Olympic silver medalist in wrestling, and 16 seconds to whip Alexis Davis in July.
Not to be outdone, Zingano herself has been quite overpowering in her most recent bouts. Zingano notched a third-round TKO victory over Miesha Tate in April 2013.
After a long layoff due to injury, Zingano then defeated Amanda Nunes via strikes in the third round of a bout in September 2014, out-striking her opponent 40-22 and notching three takedowns in that bout, per UFC.com.
Some may note that Zingano is five years older than Rousey, but age is just a number to these two top-shape fighters. Zingano does have an injury history, but at the same time it has prevented her from accumulating too much wear and tear in the ring over the past couple of years.
Both fighters will be looking to end this bout early. Rousey‘s submission skills and ground game are a sight to behold, while Zingano brings plenty of knockout power to this bout. Tate offered her take on the bout and noted that Zingano could have a distinct advantage in the lower body, per Michael Martinez, special to UFC.com:
I think Zingano is going to be better is with her kicks and knees, anything with her lower body. She’s worked a lot of Muay Thai, so her striking is different. Even when they’re in a clinch, she’s going to be very dangerous. She mixes in elbows, she mixes in knees and she kicks from a distance.
Considering the lofty stature of this bout, this one may start out slowly. Both Zingano and Rousey especially have plenty to lose here, so don’t be shocked if the first round is somewhat tentative. After that, there should be nothing but bedlam.
Even if Rousey dominates this fight, she will have no shortage of challengers. Her reputation and fame have few rivals among those who have graced UFC or MMA in general. In fact, Holm, a former boxer making her UFC debut in taking on Pennington Saturday night, has admitted she aspires to face Rousey—although she’s aware she may not be ready yet.
“I’ve never said no to a fight or picked an opponent so if they said that had to be my next fight, I would just have to change my whole chain of thought and just say ‘OK, let’s do it.’ But if it were up to me, I’d like to have more experience,” said Holm via Fox Sports’ Damon Martin.
If Pennington wins, she too could challenge Rousey. Or the script will be flipped and it will be Zingano‘s turn to rule over the sport. It would indeed be interesting to see if Zingano, should she emerge victorious, can carry a UFC card like Rousey in the future.
There is certainly opportunity for the likes of Holm and Pennington, among others, to build up a contender-worthy reputation on this card. Just because their fame and status is cast in Rousey‘s shadow for now, doesn’t mean they can’t eventually fight to take her place in the sun.
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