Tag: Cat Zingano

WMMA News Roundup: Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano Are “Not Impressed” by Ronda Rousey’s Performance, UFC Adds Four More to Women’s Bantamweight Division

Poor Miesha Tate. It’s bad enough that she nearly had her arm ripped from her torso when she first fought Ronda Rousey, but the fact that she is forced to relive it each and every time a microphone is shoved in front of her face has to leave her feeling somewhat bitter about the whole experience, and perhaps rightfully so.

Take last Saturday for instance, when Tate and her upcoming opponent Cat Zingano — both of whom appeared to be sponsored by either Lucky Charms or Zubaz Pants — were interviewed by Ariel Helwani following Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche’s historic battle at UFC 157. While one would think that Tate would put her personal differences with Ronda aside for a moment and simply congratulate her for the achievement, Tate opted rather to declare that she will “rip [Rousey’s] face off in the rematch.” Um, Miesha, your next opponent is actually the woman who was standing right next to you when you all but wrote her off. Awkward. 

In fact, Tate was spilling haterade so vigorously that even Zingano jumped in line for a glass, declaring that Rousey had “a lot of holes in [her] game” after first saying how proud she was of the first WMMA fight in UFC History and blah blah blah. On the opposite end of the spectrum, both Tate and Zingano were impressed by Carmouche’s performance despite the fact that she lost and that they would have totally finished Rousey if put in the same situation.

And fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for Tate or Zingano, it’s looking like the winner of their upcoming fight will be given the opportunity to put her money where her mouth is. During the UFC 157 post-fight show on FUEL TV, Rousey mentioned that she “is interested” in the outcome of the matchup and will be in attendance when Tate and Zingano face off in Vegas on April 13th. So make sure to tune in for the chance to witness the first ever 209 gang-stomping in WMMA History.

In other WMMA news…

Poor Miesha Tate. It’s bad enough that she nearly had her arm ripped from her torso when she first fought Ronda Rousey, but the fact that she is forced to relive it each and every time a microphone is shoved in front of her face has to leave her feeling somewhat bitter about the whole experience, and perhaps rightfully so.

Take last Saturday for instance, when Tate and her upcoming opponent Cat Zingano — both of whom appeared to be sponsored by either Lucky Charms or Zubaz Pants — were interviewed by Ariel Helwani following Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche’s historic battle at UFC 157. While one would think that Tate would put her personal differences with Ronda aside for a moment and simply congratulate her for the achievement, Tate opted rather to declare that she will “rip [Rousey’s] face off in the rematch.” Um, Miesha, your next opponent is actually the woman who was standing right next to you when you all but wrote her off. Awkward. 

In fact, Tate was spilling haterade so vigorously that even Zingano jumped in line for a glass, declaring that Rousey had “a lot of holes in [her] game” after first saying how proud she was of the first WMMA fight in UFC History and blah blah blah. On the opposite end of the spectrum, both Tate and Zingano were impressed by Carmouche’s performance despite the fact that she lost and that they would have totally finished Rousey if put in the same situation.

And fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for Tate or Zingano, it’s looking like the winner of their upcoming fight will be given the opportunity to put her money where her mouth is. During the UFC 157 post-fight show on FUEL TV, Rousey mentioned that she “is interested” in the outcome of the matchup and will be in attendance when Tate and Zingano face off in Vegas on April 13th. So make sure to tune in for the chance to witness the first ever 209 gang-stomping in WMMA History.

In other WMMA news…

According to MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC has recently signed four other fighters to the bereft women’s bantamweight division, and they are…

Sarah Kaufman: 15-2 as a pro, including multiple appearances under the Strikeforce banner and notable victories over Alexis Davis and Liz Carmouche. Last suffered a 54 second armbar defeat at the hands of (shockingly) Ronda Rousey in August of 2012, but is best known for stealing BG’s heart with this photo.

Julie Kedzie: Despite dropping her past two contests to Alexis Davis (via decision) and Miesha Tate (via armbar), “Fireball” will be heading to the UFC as well. Known for her bubbly personality and commentating gig over at Invicta FC, this Jackson’s MMA product is currently 16-11 in professional competition.

Amanda Nunes: Currently 7-3 as a professional, Nunes has competed under the Invicta and Strikeforce banners multiple times and scored one of the quickest, most brutal knockouts in WMMA History (barring pretty much every Veronica Rothenhausler fight, obvs.) when she starched Julia Budd at Strikeforce Challengers 13. 

Germaine de Randamie: 3-2, holds a notable victory over former Dominatrix/featherweight title challenger Hiroko Yamanka. Scored a brutal first round KO via knee over Stephanie Webber in her Strikeforce debut back in January of 2011.

The signings of Kaufman and Nunes might seem a little odd considering that they are both scheduled to compete for Invicta in April, but according to Kaufman, being allowed to fight in multiple organizations is a privilege that extends to just the women’s division. TAKE THAT, EQUALITY. Next you’re gonna tell me that they get their own locker rooms.

–J. Jones

Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano Was Reportedly Too Hardcore for the Swedes


(She’s a witch! Burn her! BURRRRRRN HERRRRRRRRRRR!!! / Photo via Fight! Magazine)

So here’s a weird little tidbit: The UFC’s next women’s bantamweight fight between Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano was originally supposed to serve as the co-main event for UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Mousasi (April 6th; Stockholm, Sweden), but it was reportedly sunk due to political concerns, and the matchup was moved to the TUF 17 Finale. After Ariel Helwani first mentioned the date-switch, Fighters Only followed up with more details:

The fight was pulled because it was felt by Garry Cook, the UFC VP in charge of UK and European operations, that it wasn’t suited to the Swedish audience.

Sweden is a new market and there is still some considerable opposition to the UFC among that infamously liberal and ‘progressive’ nation’s press. Politically it is a very left-wing country and it was only in 2007 that a 1970 ban on professional boxing was lifted.

Alexander Gustafsson has spearheaded the charge into what has proven to be an unexpectedly lucrative market for the UFC, but the potential for the national press to dislike or misinterpret a women’s fight was felt to be too high to risk.


(She’s a witch! Burn her! BURRRRRRN HERRRRRRRRRRR!!! / Photo via Fight! Magazine)

So here’s a weird little tidbit: The UFC’s next women’s bantamweight fight between Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano was originally supposed to serve as the co-main event for UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Mousasi (April 6th; Stockholm, Sweden), but it was reportedly sunk due to political concerns, and the matchup was moved to the TUF 17 Finale. After Ariel Helwani first mentioned the date-switch, Fighters Only followed up with more details:

The fight was pulled because it was felt by Garry Cook, the UFC VP in charge of UK and European operations, that it wasn’t suited to the Swedish audience.

Sweden is a new market and there is still some considerable opposition to the UFC among that infamously liberal and ‘progressive’ nation’s press. Politically it is a very left-wing country and it was only in 2007 that a 1970 ban on professional boxing was lifted.

Alexander Gustafsson has spearheaded the charge into what has proven to be an unexpectedly lucrative market for the UFC, but the potential for the national press to dislike or misinterpret a women’s fight was felt to be too high to risk.

For the fight to turn out to be a bloodbath would have been especially damaging…A new co-main has not been announced for the Stockholm card, but the mood on the messageboards among Swedish fans is generally one of relief that the female fight was scrapped — and not just because of the risk it poses to the sport. Progressive as they are, it seems even the Swedish fans [aren’t] particularly excited about female MMA either.

In general, Swedish support for the UFC has been fantastic so far — which makes this story even more disheartening. Keep in mind that Sweden is a country that invented a new pronoun to promote their oddball obsession with gender-neutrality. The most recent World Economic Forum report on global gender equality ranked Sweden #4 in the world out of 135 countries; the U.S. landed at a totally respectable #22. So to summarize, gender-differences don’t exist in Sweden — except in the context of cage-fighting, in which women are delicate flowers that need to be protected by men who know better.

I’m actually skeptical about this whole story, to be honest. You can look at MMA message boards in any country and find pockets of fans who don’t care for women’s MMA, and there are newspaper editorial writers in every major city who would declare a bloody fight between two women to be the end of modern civilization.

When Garry Cook made the decision to move a female fight off of UFC on FUEL 9, he had these concerns in mind. (And hell, I’ll just say it — maybe his own tastes were a factor as well.) But instead of presenting a great matchup to a crowd of enthusiastic UFC fans, he buckled under the pressure. Sure, some of those Swedish fans might have been disgusted or disinterested in Tate vs. Zingano. But maybe the fight could have helped change some perceptions.

Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano Booked for TUF 17 Finale on 4/13


(MY GOD DEM ARMS. NOT SURE IF WANT. / Photo via allelbows)

No matter how Ronda Rousey‘s UFC 157 title fight against Liz Carmouche turns out, at least one more women’s bout will take place in the UFC this year — and it’s a good one, too. UFC officials confirmed today that former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champ Miesha Tate will make her Octagon debut at the Ultimate Fighter 17 finale (April 13th, Las Vegas), where she’ll face 7-0 prospect Cat “Alpha” Zingano.

A native of Broomfield, Colorado, Zingano’s most recent appearance was at Invicta FC 3 last October, where she submitted Raquel Pennington by second-round rear-naked choke. Prior to that fight, Zingano pulled off a body-slam KO against Takayo Hashi, TKO’d Carina Damm, and won Ring Of Fire titles at bantamweight and flyweight. In other words, this lady is serious business. And forget Cris Cyborg — Zingano is probably the most absurdly–jacked female fighter we’ve seen since Rin Nakai.

So will Zingano be successful in her UFC debut, or will she suffer the blankety wrath of Takedown Tate? Shoot us your prediction — as well as your general interest level in this fight — in the comments section.


(MY GOD DEM ARMS. NOT SURE IF WANT. / Photo via allelbows)

No matter how Ronda Rousey‘s UFC 157 title fight against Liz Carmouche turns out, at least one more women’s bout will take place in the UFC this year — and it’s a good one, too. UFC officials confirmed today that former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champ Miesha Tate will make her Octagon debut at the Ultimate Fighter 17 finale (April 13th, Las Vegas), where she’ll face 7-0 prospect Cat “Alpha” Zingano.

A native of Broomfield, Colorado, Zingano’s most recent appearance was at Invicta FC 3 last October, where she submitted Raquel Pennington by second-round rear-naked choke. Prior to that fight, Zingano pulled off a body-slam KO against Takayo Hashi, TKO’d Carina Damm, and won Ring Of Fire titles at bantamweight and flyweight. In other words, this lady is serious business. And forget Cris Cyborg — Zingano is probably the most absurdly–jacked female fighter we’ve seen since Rin Nakai.

So will Zingano be successful in her UFC debut, or will she suffer the blankety wrath of Takedown Tate? Shoot us your prediction — as well as your general interest level in this fight — in the comments section.