Cat Zingano Has A Huge Fight At UFC 200
Former title challenger Cat Zingano has her long-awaited return to the Octagon scheduled.
The No. 3-ranked ‘Alpha,’ who was last seen losing a 14-second title bout to Ronda Rousey at UFC 184 in February 2015, will meet surging No. 4 Julianna Pena at July 9’s stacked UFC 200 pay-per-view (PPV) event from the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
ESPNW broke the news today:
It’s official.
Cat Zingano will be back in the Octagon to fight Julianna Pena at UFC 200: https://t.co/7hnYVtRIln pic.twitter.com/zWRr0Cheuo
— espnW (@espnW) April 7, 2016
Zingano earned No. 1 contender status in her first-ever UFC fight, finishing current champion Miesha Tate in the third round a gritty come-from-behind win at 2013’s The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 17 Finale. She was unable to serve as coach opposite Ronda Rousey on TUF 18 due to an injured knee, however, and Tate took her place. She returned to the Octagon at UFC 178 in September 2014, topping current title challenger Amanda Nunes via TKO.
The win earned her the title shot at Rousey. Fans have been awaiting her next fight ever since.
Pena, on the other hand, exploded on the UFC scene as the winner of the female contract on TUF 18, but she too dealt with a very serious knee injury that kept her out of action for over a year before she returned to defeat Milana Dudieva in 2015. She then beat Jessica Eye at UFC 192 to solidify her place among the top female bantamweights in MMA.
Zingano teased an ‘epic return’ and many thought hse was referring to a bout with Cris ‘Cyborg’ or Holly Holm, but if she can get past ‘The Venezuelan Vixen,’ she’ll no doubt be dangerously close to the title shot she wants for redemption.
