Two years after making UFC history, Ronda Rousey leads another significant step for women’s MMA.
The women’s bantamweight champion is not only headlining another pay-per-view, but UFC 184 will feature the first all-female main and co-main events tonight at Staples Center.
Rousey (10-0), who will defend her belt against No. 1 contender Cat Zingano (9-0), won the first women’s bout in the UFC on Feb. 23, 2013, at UFC 157 at Honda Center in Anaheim.
This came after UFC President Dana White famously and regrettably said he would never have women fighters in the UFC. Even some male fighters and their coaches expressed apprehension at women in the UFC, not to mention being the marquee matchup for a pay-per-view.
But here we are, with billboards of Rousey and Zingano plastered all over Southern California, and fellow bantamweights Holly Holm and Raquel Pennington in the co-main event.
Granted, it took an injury to middleweight champion Chris Weidman, postponing his main-event bout with Vitor Belfort to elevate the women’s bouts. The UFC was confident in its female fighters and their division to carry the card, which includes nine other bouts — all featuring men.
“I think it’s great that women being at the forefront of the MMA community is becoming normal,” said Rousey, 28, who is making her fifth title defense. “I think some people … were surprised, they didn’t even notice that women were the main and co-main (events), that we’ve had so many women in main events.
“Having women in the co-main is the next step. I love that it’s becoming so commonplace that it’s not a surprise anymore.”
Zingano, who noted the lack of billboards in Broomfield, Colo., and was taken aback by seeing her likeness across Los Angeles, is thankful for the opportunity and the way UFC 184 is being approached.
“You can just feel the energy, this feminine energy, but it’s very masculine because of what we’re doing,” Zingano said. “To see, I don’t know, I like how much it’s being supported. I like how seriously we’re all taking it. And we’ve put in so much work to be where we are to finally be showcased. I just think it’s cool.”
Rousey and Zingano not only go into the fight with unblemished records, but they are known for finishing fights.
Rousey, the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medalist in judo, started her professional MMA career with eight armbar submissions, but has ended her past two fights with knockouts. Only one of her 10 fights — a third-round submission victory in a rematch with Miesha Tate in December 2013 — made it out of the first round.
Zingano, 32, has finished eight of her nine victories. After wrestling in high school and becoming a collegiate All-American and national champion and excelling in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Zingano — whose first name is Cathilee — won seven MMA fights over four years with only one decision. Once in the UFC, she racked up third-round TKO wins over Tate and Amanda Nunes.
Each is aware this will be the stiffest test of her career, so there is plenty of mutual respect.
“I think because, on the grand scheme of things, we have a lot of the same experiences, both good and bad,” Zingano said. “We do have a very mutual circle of friends. And I think that heart and that intensity and all those attributes that we share are … it’s something to be respected.
“I feel like she knows how I feel to be at this level. I know how she feels to be at this level. And it’s just about that performance and putting on a good show.”
Zingano has endured plenty of heartache on this journey. She tore her ACL shortly after defeating Tate in 2013, missing out on a lucrative chance to coach against Rousey on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” And while she was on the mend, Mauricio Zingano, her estranged husband, committed suicide in January 2014.
Now that the biggest fight of her life has arrived, she is grateful her determination has delivered her to this moment.
“It feels really good. You keep doing what you’re doing and it’ll pay off. Just keeping that moving-forward momentum,” she said. “I don’t know. I worked extremely hard. I had to bite down and grind through all this and it pays off. I feel like that is true for anyone and their goals.”
Much has been made about the way each fighter comes out of the gate. Rousey needed a mere 16 seconds to knock out Alexis Davis in July. Before that, just 1:06 to fell Sara McMann with a knee to the liver one year ago.
Zingano has a knack for being a slow starter, but the end results are all that matter to Rousey.
“I think that Cat’s resilience is one of the things that has really impressed me about her the most. And I think that’s what’s really gotten her most of her fans,” she said. “It’s not just the way that she fights, but the way that she endures. And it’s extremely impressive and one of those things that I will definitely keep in mind for the fight.”
With Rousey’s dominance comes expectation. As of Friday, according to BestFightOdds.com, Rousey was a heavy favorite at -760, with Zingano at +700.
This matters none to Zingano. She’s been down before and risen.
“I’m going out there and I’m at the top, there’s nowhere higher to go and I’m just pumped to be here,” Zingano said. “And being the underdog, man, I like that. I do. I think that it gives me a lot that I want to prove and a lot I want to show, and it forces me to be authentic and to pull out my best stuff.”
