Former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champ Miesha “Cupcake” Tate will make her UFC debut against unbeaten rising star “Alpha” Cat Zingano at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale on April 13th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 135-pound women’s matchup was officially announced earlier today.
Tate and Zingano will face off in the second female fight ever promoted by the UFC. In just 12 days’ time, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey and Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche vie for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship at UFC 157. The Tate-Zingano winner may move on to challenge for the title.
Tate (13-3-0) became the third Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion on July 30, 2011 when she handed Dutch veteran Marloes “Rumina” Coenen the first submission loss of her storied career with a fourth-round arm-triangle choke. The victory set up a grudge match between Tate and Rousey for the title this past March. In Rousey’s longest and most competitive fight to date, she battled back and forth with Tate on the ground before eventually trapping Tate in a fight-ending armbar. Tate returned to action in August to face Julie “Fireball” Kedzie and rallied back from early adversity and a knockdown in round three to secure a come-from-behind armbar submission victory late in the fight.
Zingano (7-0-0) has already captured four different titles in three weight classes during her young professional career and she had set her sights on becoming the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion this past year. However, Zingano’s September debut for the promotion was scrapped when Strikeforce cancelled the card and she went on to defeat Raquel “Rocky” Pennington in a short-notice bout at Invicta FC 3, earning her sixth stoppage victory in the process. The powerful and well-rounded fighter now brings her undefeated record to the world-famous Octagon and she will likely earn herself a shot at the UFC women’s bantamweight title if she can defeat Tate in April.
The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale takes place on April 13th at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
Tate will have her hands full here, and I am not sure if she can win this one actually.
I think they are comparable in wrestling and Zingano may actually be stronger.
Should be noted that Zingano fought for most of her career in the 125 lb. division… I also noticed Raquel Pennington seemed a good deal bigger… so, Miesha will likely be the bigger girl here.