Cat Zingano Set To Face Amanda Nunes At UFC 178 In SeptemberUndefeated bantamweight star “Alpha” Cat Zingano makes her long-awaited return to the cage on September 27th at UFC 178: “Jones vs Gustafsson 2” in Las Vegas, Nevada. The former number one contender is scheduled to face Amanda “Lioness” Nunes in what will likely serve as a title eliminator.

Yahoo! Sports first reported on the 135-pound bout on Thursday. Zingano has been sidelined since April 2013 due to a serious knee injury and the tragic death of her husband. She stopped Miesha “Cupcake” Tate in her most recent fight. Nunes is 2-0 in the UFC with two first-round TKO wins.

Zingano (8-0-0) has been one of North America’s top female fighters since turning pro in mid-2008. She captured four regional titles in three different weight classes prior to making her Invicta FC debut in October 2012. In her lone bout for the promotion, Zingano submitted Raquel “Rocky” Pennington with a second-round rear-naked choke. Zingano’s biggest win to date came when she stopped Tate at the TUF 17 Finale in April 2013, but she was forced to withdraw from a UFC title shot and a TUF 18 coaching spot opposite champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey due to a torn ACL this past year.

Nunes (9-3-0) is widely regarded as one of the most powerful strikers in the women’s bantamweight division. All nine of her professional victories have ended inside the distance including eight by way of knockout. Nunes went 1-1 inside the Invicta FC cage, but she has made the most of her time with the UFC thus far. In her Octagon debut, she destroyed Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff at UFC 163, and she finished 2013 strong with an impressive win over Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie in November. A victory against Zingano could earn Nunes a UFC title shot.

UFC 178: “Jones vs Gustafsson 2” takes place on September 27th at a venue to be determined in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship rematch between Jon “Bones” Jones and Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson.

 

 

(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)

  1. Nunes is a very dangerous opponent for Cat, who has been away for so long. I really think Nunes will take this one… unless her cardio affects her performance again.