Back in the win column after an impressive showing at UFC Boise, Cat Zingano is now angling to fight the champ.
Cat Zingano snapped a three year losing streak this past Saturday at UFC Boise, defeating the extremely tough Marion Reneau in dominating fashion. The scorecards reflected that domination, with judges handing her 30-27, 30-27, and 30-26 scores. Zingano was clearly emotional – it’s been no secret that the former women’s bantamweight contender has faced huge life challenges to get back to this winning track.
She discussed how she was feeling following the fight with MMA Junkie:
“I was so scared going into this fight,” Zingano told MMAjunkie after UFC Fight Night 133. “I was very, very scared. Coming off three losses, all of them were losses where I just didn’t show up, wake up. I felt out of it. To come in tonight, I wasn’t sure who would show up. I really just wanted to dance my dance and try to feel her and try to stay off rhythm and be wild and crazy and me.”
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“I worked so hard for so long without any of the results I wanted,” Zingano said. “I’m grateful for all the steps I took to get here. Although not all of them looked the way I wanted them to, it’s all part of this. I’m grateful and thankful, for everyone and everything along the way, and I’m able to know myself through all of this, and it’s nice to be here, and it’s nice to feel myself again.”
The win snaps a three loss streak, and is her first since defeating Amanda Nunes at UFC 178 via TKO back in 2014. Nunes is now the women’s bantamweight champion, and having a win over her has Zingano feeling pretty good about her place in a division that has struggled to produce clear cut challengers.
“I think we’ve got some unfinished business,” Zingano said. “I think it’s weird for me to call her out. She should call me out. It drives me crazy seeing people that (I’ve beaten) go on. She seems pretty not worried about me. But now that I’m in the W column, she’s got no reason not to lock horns with me again.
“She’s good. She’s been a good champion. She’s been dominant. But she hasn’t done a whole lot that I feel has evolved past what I’ve done to her. It’s time. The time’s coming.”
At the moment it looks like Nunes is angling for a big money fight with women’s featherweight champ Cris Cyborg in December. That just gives Zingano more time to fight again and establish herself as the force at 135 that she was when she first arrived in the UFC with a 7-0 record.