The UFC’s women’s bantamweight division has now come a long way since the days of former champion and one of the most dominant women’s fighter in history, ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey. The division was once ruled by the Judoka and was seemingly invincible until Holly Holm savagely and brutally broke that myth via a painful head kick. The women’s 135 pounds title then changed hands like a hot potato from Holm to Miesha Tate and then to the current champion, Amanda Nunes. However, there has been one woman who has been at the centre of the division but hasn’t got her hands on UFC gold yet, i.e. Cat Zingano. Zingano is the only woman who has defeated Nunes inside the octagon, although she was infamously submitted by Rousey into oblivion in just fourteen seconds. Zingano has now claimed that she has never really been dominated in her entire career. In a recent interview given to MMA Junkie radio, she also talked about how she has improved, getting a potential title shot, her upcoming bout, etc.
Zingano has a MMA record of 9-2 and had defeated Nunes via TKO due to elbows and punches at UFC 178. She had then faced Rousey for the title at UFC 184 but lost the fight via submission due to an armbar. The BJJ ace had last fought against Julianna Pena at UFC 200, and had lost a close fight via unanimous decision.
Zingano has been taking a lot of digs at the champion, Nunes. In the interview, she also claimed how she “broke” Nunes during the worst phase of Zingano’s life. Here’s what she had to say:
“She says she’s improved since then, but there’s no way I didn’t improve since then, I didn’t stop training, and that was my first fight back after blowing my knee. It was the first fight back after losing my husband and coach to suicide and having a completely different camp – and having no idea what I was going to do with myself now that there’s a new normal. Everything is different now, so to think that I haven’t improved since then, or that was even my best – that’s ridiculous. She had everything in her favor that fight. Everything in her favor in that fight, and I still broke her.
It’s not like I just got mangled and dominated (in my losses to Ronda Rousey and Julianna Pena). It’s all the stuff I got to work on and have worked on. I have no weight on me because of those fights, because they’re things I can correct and they’re things I will correct. You better believe when I’m the one calling the shots that I’m going to ask for those fights again. I need to fix those things. It bothers me, but it bothers me in the right way.
This fight (her upcoming fight), they said it has potential to be a No. 1 contender fight. That could be one fight away; that could be two fights away. Either way, I’m focused on this fight, I’m focused on getting through this one in the most fantastic way possible. Of course I want those title shots. Of course I want to jump right back in to where I left off and do everything the way that I know I’m capable of doing. I also understand there’s a patience that comes with it and a believing in myself that comes with it, and taking little steps to get to the big steps.”
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