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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Cat Zingano had to survive a heavy early onslaught from Amanda Nunes on Saturday at UFC 178, but survive she did, coming back strong and destroying Nunes herself by the third round of the fight.
It was an impressive and emotional display from Zingano, who came back from a serious ACL injury and the tragic loss of her husband to secure the fight with Ronda Rousey she was supposed to get last year.
UFC President Dana White said after the event that Zingano's getting that next fight with Rousey as expected, and that the fight will happen in January if both are healthy.
"After the fight she ran over and yelled at me: 'Do you see me?' Yes, I see you. I think that fight was a big 'shut up about Gina Carano,'" White said on the Fox Sports 1 post-show. "She's been out for a while and she needed to remind the fans why she deserved the next shot against Ronda Rousey. As long as they're healthy, we'll put that fight together in January."
Penick's Analysis: Zingano had a fantastic comeback, and she's got tons of power with which to work. However, her game is predicated on getting in close for takedowns and doing her damage on the ground more than anything, and she can be put in bad situations. Even though she's shown a great ability to get out of that trouble, dealing with Rousey on the ground is a completely different game than what she got out of Miesha Tate or Nunes. She'll try to prove she's up for that challenge, but while she's definitely the deserving challenger, I still have a hard time seeing her doing to Rousey what no one else has been able to do.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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