Cat Zingano wasn’t shocked to hear of Cris Cyborg popping Angela Magana in the mouth during the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fighter Retreat. Zingano also took part in the event, but didn’t see the incident that had occurred. Prior to the commotion, “Alpha” said Magana had tried to get under her skin (via MMAFighting.com): “That […]
Cat Zingano wasn’t shocked to hear of Cris Cyborg popping Angela Magana in the mouth during the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fighter Retreat. Zingano also took part in the event, but didn’t see the incident that had occurred. Prior to the commotion, “Alpha” said Magana had tried to get under her skin (via MMAFighting.com): “That […]
Add UFC women’s bantamweight Cat Zingano to the list of fighters unhappy with this past week’s UFC fighter retreat. Zingano recently joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour to talk about her experience at the Vegas event, and it wasn’t a good one. In the midst of the event Zingano was left wondering the same […]
Add UFC women’s bantamweight Cat Zingano to the list of fighters unhappy with this past week’s UFC fighter retreat.
Zingano recently joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour to talk about her experience at the Vegas event, and it wasn’t a good one. In the midst of the event Zingano was left wondering the same thing her fellow combatants were – why are they still broke when the company is spending money bringing in people such as Kobe Bryant, Michael Strahan, and Snoop Dogg? (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“If this retreat was meant to tell us about all the newness that is happening, not only the millions of dollars that they probably spent on this event, and the carpets at the event that will be used once, and wall fixture that will be used once, and how much money went into bringing Snoop in and Michael Strahan in, and Kobe Bryant — what did these guys get paid to come do this?” she said. “When we’re sitting here broke, or struggling. Or the people that are still on top in the world are wondering what they’re going to do next in their career.
“It was really hard for me personally seeing how they’re throwing out all these companies making all this money, and we should be honored to be considered on the same level of popularity of these companies.”
“Alpha” went on to state that she doesn’t think the UFC is considering everyone’s positions when speakers are telling them how to invest their money, and they don’t have any money to actually invest:
“That was more insulting than anything, and I don’t know if they considered that when they were creating the content, when they were like look, we get this many viewers, we sell this many fights to this many homes a year, blah blah blah, and all of us are still sitting there knowing exactly what we get f*cking paid,” Zingano said.
“How much is Kobe getting to be there? And I love the man. Don’t get me wrong, I love Michael Strahan. Michael Strahan is actually one of the producers that did my documentary [Religion of Sports], so I have an invested emotion in actually liking this guy because he was delicate with my situation and my story. I do care about these guys, but it’s like, how much did it cost to get them there? How much did it cost for Snoop to be there for a private concert? And every carpet in this hotel saying ‘Fighter Retreat?’ Why not spread that money out over us? Or get us health insurance? We’re getting welcomed to a family, this professional athlete family, a world family. Kobe’s telling us how to invest our money. Tell me how do I invest and intelligently get a return on f*cking five thousand dollars?
“I don’t feel they were considering at all our positions.”
The former 135-pound title challenger also stated that one speaker, who was being ‘extremely condescending’ to the fighters, told them they wouldn’t be ‘sh*t’ if they lost and that they should ‘be Conor McGregor’:
“There was a guy on stage, being extremely condescending to us, and I thought that was product placement,” Zingano said. “I thought it was. And no, he’s out there representing us, promoting ourselves and our brand, telling us if we lose we aren’t sh*t and they don’t care about us, and to be ourselves.
“That was the best quote of the whole seminar, was ‘be yourself, be Conor McGregor.’ I was like, done.”
One thing that really set Zingano over the top was the 50 percent off coupon that Reebok gave fighters. Zingano is frustrated that the ‘the company that took all my money’ now wants more:
“They gave us these boxes, these UFC boxes, which had shoes and sweatpants or something in it,” she said. “On the bottom of the box, it had this coupon, and I pick up the coupon when I got home. Someone had said while we were there, dude, f*ck all of this, how are they sitting here educating us about Reebok when Reebok is already taking all of our money? Everyone’s upset about it, that we lost so much money, lost any credit with any sponsors ever.
“So I get home and I find that thing on the bottom of the box, and I was like — so, this is really what I’ve worked this hard for? This is me, I’ve made it, I’m one of the best in the world at something, I’ve f*cking made it — and this is what I get from the company that took all my money, is they want more?”
Cat Zingano didn’t walk out of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) retreat feeling any better about her position with the promotion. Zingano recently told MMAFighting.com that her experience didn’t go so well at the retreat, and she isn’t alone. One of her key complaints was about the “gift” Reebok gave the fighters: “They gave us […]
Cat Zingano didn’t walk out of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) retreat feeling any better about her position with the promotion. Zingano recently told MMAFighting.com that her experience didn’t go so well at the retreat, and she isn’t alone. One of her key complaints was about the “gift” Reebok gave the fighters: “They gave us […]
Not many female fighters are going around asking to fight Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg Justino, but former UFC bantamweight title challenger “Alpha” Cat Zingano claims to be one of them. The 34-year-old contender recently took to her official Twitter account to tell fans that she’s been ‘begging’ the UFC to book a fight […]
Not many female fighters are going around asking to fight Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg Justino, but former UFC bantamweight title challenger “Alpha” Cat Zingano claims to be one of them.
The 34-year-old contender recently took to her official Twitter account to tell fans that she’s been ‘begging’ the UFC to book a fight between her and the Brazilian slugger:
Zingano, who’s currently ranked No. 7 in the bantamweight rankings, is coming off back-to-back losses to former champion Ronda Rousey at UFC 184 back in Feb. 2015 and rising contender Julianna Pena at UFC 200 last July. Despite her recent setbacks, Zingano remains a well-known name amongst female fighters.
UFC President Dana White actually revealed that the UFC was targeting a bout between Cyborg and Zingano, but Justino quickly shot the idea down. With the creation of a women’s featherweight division in the UFC, Justino has expressed interest in facing a legitimate 145-pound contender rather than another fighter moving up from bantamweight. The Brazilian has competed twice inside the Octagon thus far, scoring back-to-back finishes over Leslie Smith and Lina Lansberg, with both of those victories coming in 140-pound catchweight bouts.
Cyborg has expressed interest in fighting at UFC 214 this July perhaps against UFC champion Germaine de Randamie or top contender Megan Anderson. However, she recently got herself into some trouble when she punched UFC strawweight Angela Magana at the UFC’s Athlete Retreat in Las Vegas last weekend, so her future is now up in the air.
Earlier this year, the UFC introduced a women’s featherweight division to its promotion. Bantamweight contenders Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie moved up in weight to compete for the inaugural 145-pound title, with de Randamie scoring a somewhat controversial decision victory over Holm in the main event of UFC 208 from Brooklyn, New York. The […]
Earlier this year, the UFC introduced a women’s featherweight division to its promotion. Bantamweight contenders Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie moved up in weight to compete for the inaugural 145-pound title, with de Randamie scoring a somewhat controversial decision victory over Holm in the main event of UFC 208 from Brooklyn, New York.
The only problem, however, is that the division has not moved forward sense, as GDR hasn’t fought, while Cris Cyborg, the woman many consider to be the best featherweight in the world has been on the sidelines as well.
Cyborg, however, appears ready to compete, although de Randamie has been rumored to be dealing with personal issues. With that being said, the Brazilian slugger has urged the UFC to book her in a bout with Megan Anderson:
Anderson is a highly accomplished featherweight contender, having won her previous four bouts under the Invicta FC banner, with all four of those victories coming by way of stoppage. The Australian has yet to compete inside the Octagon.
There have also been rumors indicating that Cyborg could take on former bantamweight title challenger Cat Zingano in her next bout, which she would like to take place at July 29’s UFC 214. That possibility doesn’t appear to interest her at all:
Make world rankings matter! #1 vs #3 in the world at FW don’t make #1 vs someone from a lighter weight class coming off consecutive losses https://t.co/UsXR08asOd
Cyborg Justino’s next Octagon appearance is reportedly set. The Brazilian made her UFC nearly a year ago at UFC 198 from her hometown of Fortaleza, Brazil. She took on Leslie Smith and got the first round TKO victory in just over a minute. She followed that up with another brilliant performance against UFC newcomer Lina Lansberg
Cyborg Justino’s next Octagon appearance is reportedly set.
The Brazilian made her UFC nearly a year ago at UFC 198 from her hometown of Fortaleza, Brazil. She took on Leslie Smith and got the first round TKO victory in just over a minute.
She followed that up with another brilliant performance against UFC newcomer Lina Lansberg four months later and earned yet another TKO victory. The former Invicta FC Champ campaigned hard for the UFC to implement a female 145-pound weight class, and they did – but Cyborg wasn’t a part of it.
After a brief run in with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which she was later cleared of, Cyborg is now cleared to get back into the Octagon. According to a report from Combate, Justino will be throwing down with former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Cat Zingano.
Zingano has had quite the career, as she has victories over former 135-pound champions Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes. She then met former division queen Ronda Rousey and was submitted in just 14 seconds of the first round, handing her her first career loss in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).
After nearly two years off from competition, Zingano returned last summer against Julianna Pena lost a unanimous decision after 25 minutes of combat. Now it seems she will try her hand against a women who is considered the pound-for-pound best female fighter of all time by some, 10 pounds above her usual weight class.
The pair are reportedly targeted to face-off at UFC 214 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on July 29, 2017. The card will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between hated rivals Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones. It also features a featherweight clash between rising featherweight star Doo Ho Choi and Andre Fili. Those are the only two fights finalized for the card as of this writing.
The former 135-pound title challenger also stated that one speaker, who was being ‘extremely condescending’ to the fighters, told them they wouldn’t be ‘sh*t’ if they lost and that they should ‘be Conor McGregor’:
