The Woman Who Knocked Out Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes Joins Them at UFC 200
Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes are facing off for the UFC women's bantamweight title in the co-main event of UFC 200, but they should both be worried about the newest addition to the card. That's because the UFC announced Thursday that Cat Zingano is joining the card to face Julianna Pena:
"Boom! 👊🏽@CatZingano vs @VenezuelanVixen added to #UFC200! https://t.co/hzpsGRDcCk pic.twitter.com/wIoDkQdVtZ
— UFC (@ufc) April 7, 2016"
Zingano (9-1) hasn't been seen in the Octagon since her 14-second loss to Ronda Rousey at UFC 184 in February 2015, but that isn't a fair representation of her MMA career to this point.
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In 2012, she earned her way into the UFC by submitting Raquel Pennington at Invicta FC 3. She debuted in 2013 opposite Tate at UFC 168 in a top contender's bout to determine the next challenger for then-champion Rousey. Zingano won the fight with an impressive third-round knockout but had her title shot stolen by a catastrophic knee injury that kept her out of action for 17 months. She returned at UFC 178 by scoring a come-from-behind TKO win over Nunes, which once again set her up with a chance to face Rousey.
Following yet another long layoff, she will face Pena (7-2) at UFC 200. Pena is best known for her successful run through The Ultimate Fighter season 18, defeating Jessica Rakoczy in the finale. After suffering a knee injury of her own in 2014, she beat Milana Dudieva at UFC Fight Night 63 and then jumped into the Top 10 rankings by defeating Jessica Eye at UFC 192.
With exciting styles and big stakes in play here, it's easy to have high expectations for this fight. Both women need a win to cement a place in the title picture, and UFC 200 gives them an excellent platform to gain popularity.
This is a fight worth getting excited about.
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