5 Defining Moments: Cat Zingano

With time no longer on her side, this can only be considered a case of now or never for Cat Zingano.

The resurgent 41-year-old will challenge Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino for the undisputed Bellator MMA women’s featherweight championship in the Bellator 300 co-headliner on Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. Zingano enters the cage with the wind of a four-fight winning streak in her sails. She last appeared at Bellator 293, where she took a unanimous decision from Leah McCourt in their three-round pairing on March 31. The Winona, Minnesota, native has not lost in nearly five years.

As Zingano makes final preparations for her forthcoming showdown with Justino at 145 pounds, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define her:

1. No Cakewalk

The unbeaten Zingano stopped Miesha Tate with a series of third-round knee strikes, as their women’s bantamweight showcase buoyed “The Ultimate Fighter 17” Finale on April 13, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. A bloody and weary Tate succumbed to the blows 2:55 into Round 3. Zingano weathered a difficult start, as Tate had the former two-division Ring of Fire champion on her heels with punches, takedowns and ground-and-pound. The momentum began to shift late in the second round. There, Zingano escaped an attempted heel hook, settled in top position and unleashed elbows and punches from above. In the third, Zingano struck for an immediate takedown, softened Tate with more ground-and-pound and then let loose with knees when the onetime Strikeforce champion rose to her feet. A final standing elbow dropped Tate to her knees and prompted referee Kim Winslow to intervene.

2. ‘Lioness’ Tamer

“Alpha Cat” moved to a perfect 9-0 as a professional when she took out Amanda Nunes with mounted ground-and-pound in the third round of their UFC 178 women’s bantamweight feature on Sept. 27, 2014 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Zingano drew the curtain on the Brazilian 1:21 into Round 3. Nunes emptied her gas tank in the first round, where she took down the former Fight to Win titleholder and battered her with heavy, relentless ground-and-pound. Zingano withstood the assault and drew the “Lioness” into deeper waters. Nunes had nothing left for the second and third rounds. In the third, Zingano achieved full mount, opened a nasty gash on the side of her fading counterpart’s head with a well-placed elbow and sealed it with unanswered blows from the top.

3. Outside of Arm’s Reach

Misguided aggression did not serve Zingano well when she submitted to an armbar from women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in the first round of their brief UFC 184 headliner on Feb. 28, 2015 at the Staples Center in Las Angeles. It was over in just 14 seconds. Zingano fired a flying knee right out of the gate and wandered recklessly into the clinch. She tossed Rousey to the canvas with an ill-advised throw, but the champion scrambled immediately to the back, pinned the challenger’s exposed limb underneath her armpit and calmly cranked on the maneuver for the finish. Zingano was the Olympic judoka’s seventh sub-minute victim.

4. Sputtering in the Spotlight

“The Ultimate Fighter 18” winner Julianna Pena overcame some early issues to claim a unanimous decision over Zingano in the featured UFC 200 prelim on July 9, 2016 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Pena swept the scorecards with 29-28 nods from all three judges. Zingano controlled the first five minutes with takedowns, top control and ground-and-pound. Pena was undeterred. She flipped the switch in Round 2, where she reversed a takedown, advanced to Zingano’s back, set her hooks and fished for the rear-naked choke. Though her bid to finish failed, momentum was hers. She picked up where she left off in the third round, executing a takedown inside the first 10 seconds before hammering away at Zingano with ground-and-pound and again shifting to her back.

5. Back in Business

Zingano made a triumphant return from a 622-day sabbatical and shined her Bellator MMA debut, as she was awarded a unanimous decision over Gabrielle Holloway in their Bellator 245 co-main event on Sept. 11, 2020 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Scores were 30-26, 30-26 and 29-27. Zingano shook off whatever rust resulted from her layoff and executed takedowns in all three rounds. She piled up points with ground-and-pound and hunted submissions whenever the mood struck, flexing her Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt skills on a woman she woefully overmatched on the mat. Zingano more than held her own in the standup exchanges, as well, as she called upon close-range knee and elbow strikes to the head and body in an encouraging performance in front of a new audience.