Issue 103
July 2013
Sizing up TUF 18’s unbeaten female coaches ahead of their imminent UFC title showdown
Heading into what many are expecting will be a huge, and quite unique co-ed season of the now ancient (in reality TV terms) The Ultimate Fighter, opposing coaches Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano have more than just their unbeaten records at stake.
Rousey (7-0) will be making the second defense of her UFC women’s bantamweight title, promoted from her previous Strikeforce belt, following her first defense in February in the genuinely historic UFC 157 main event.
Headlining over established, big-name veterans Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida was apparently sacrilegious enough that hordes of the sport’s more vocal fans took to the web to vent their sexist, boneheaded spleens.
The fact is, media magnet Rousey and previously unknown challenger Liz Carmouche pulled in far more publicity than future Hall of Famer ‘Hendo’ and the enigmatic Machida – even if we were still at the height of the short-lived ‘Machida Karate’ fad – could ever have generated.
Aside from the fact the men had an absolute stinker of a fight, too, Rousey and Carmouche thrilled the live crowd with a fantastic battle, as the former US marine gave ‘Rowdy’ Ronda the hardest fight of her short career before falling victim to the seemingly inevitable armbar, just 11 seconds from the end of the opening round.
Whatever the evidence before them, some still dismissed the UFC women’s division as a short-term gimmick that lives and dies with the photogenic, outspoken Rousey. But then Cat Zingano and Miesha Tate stole the show at the TUF 17 Finale with a brutal, compelling battle for a title shot and that lucrative coaching slot opposite Rousey.
After a tough, competitive first two rounds, Zingano (8-0) finished Tate with some thunderous knees to the face in the third and final round, going from an unknown to the overwhelming majority of the UFC fan base to a legitimate star in less than 15 minutes.
Under the UFC and media spotlight, both Rousey and Zingano have already shone and that will only intensify as season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter raises their profiles and will see them coaching men and women before squaring off for the championship by the end of the year.
Given Rousey’s ability to talk up a fight, to get under the skin of her opponents, and attract the attention of news and feature editors, the hype and the resulting pressure will be at fever pitch. So, how will they cope? Rousey is used to being courted by the media now, but, for Zingano, her world is about to change very dramatically.
But undoubtedly the pressure will be on Rousey to perform for the cameras, while also coping with more distractions than ever before, especially as Hollywood clearly sees her as a potential female action hero and will be bombarding her with offers and opportunities.
Their fight, after three months of build-up on the shiny new Fox Sports 1 channel – where they will be heavily featured programming – will be a big deal in the press and online; but then what happens when the cage door shuts? Barring something unusual, like a draw or a no-contest, one of them will lose their unbeaten record in a fight that has endless fascinating possibilities.
Both women are excellent finishers. In a combined 15 professional fights, only Zingano has gone the distance (her decision win over highly-rated current Invicta FC champ Barb Honchak in 2010) while Rousey has still never entered a second round. True, Zingano tends to take significantly longer to put her opponents away, but that also suggests she has good stamina – a point Rousey has yet to prove.
Zingano is also the more seasoned, technically adept striker; but so was Sarah Kaufman and she lasted just 54 seconds until Rousey armbarred her. Surprisingly, the broad shouldered Zingano was competing at 125lb as recently as 2011. Will Rousey, who competed at 154lb in the 2008 Olympic Games, have the size and strength advantage? Perhaps, though she has trimmed down significantly too and fights the weight first.
Both women also predominantly train with men. Both finished Tate – the former Strikeforce champion and widely regarded as top five in the division – inside the distance. This should be another great fight, and another great occasion, not just for women’s MMA, but for the sport as a whole, but whether Zingano has the strength to resist the inevitable Rousey armbar finish is the biggest question of all.
