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DAVAO CITY, Philippines – UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is set to make her fifth title defense by taking on perennial contender Cat Zingano in the co-headliner of the UFC 182 pay-per-view event on January 3 (January 4 in PH).
The fight booking was publicly confirmed by UFC president Dana White on the weekly news-magazine show “UFC Tonight” on Thursday morning, October 23 (PH Time).
White first mentioned the marquee match-up this past September at the post-UFC 178 press conference, where Zingano (9-0) made a triumphant return from a 17-month layoff by thwarting Amanda Nunes via third-round technical knockout.
The 32-year-old Zingano initially earned the right to vie for the 135-pound division’s top prize when she scored a third-round stoppage win over former Strikeforce titlist Miesha Tate at The Ultimate Fighter 17 season finale in April 2013, but a knee injury as well as the loss of her husband prevented her from capitalizing on the title shot.
On the other hand, Rousey is coming off a 16-second demolition of Alexis Davis at UFC 175 in July to extend his unbeaten record to ten matches.
Rousey recently added another accolade to her résumé as she was named as the Best Female Athlete in the 2014 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) Awards.
The 27-year-old “Rowdy”, who was up against the likes of Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin, WNBA player Maya Moore and college baller Breanna Stewart in the Best Female Athlete category, became the first mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter to bag an ESPY award that was bestowed upon her during the annual awarding ceremony at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California last July 17.
In addition, she was also nominated for the “Best Fighter” citation alongside UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, boxing’s pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, renowned Filipino pugilist Manny Pacquiao and WBA super middleweight titleholder Andre Ward, but Mayweather took home the trophy for the third-straight time.
At the age of 17, Rousey emerged as one of the top female Judokas in the world, giving her the opportunity to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Four years later, she captured the bronze medal at the Beijing Games, becoming the first American to win an Olympic medal in women’s judo bracket since its inception as an Olympic sport in 1992.
Rousey turned her attention to prizefighting in March 2011 and spearheaded her MMA career with eight-straight triumphs by armbar submission.
After moving up in the ranks to claim the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight belt, she was hailed as the UFC inaugural female champion in November 2012 when the organization was purchased by the world’s premier MMA promotion.
UFC 182, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between current titleholder Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. – Rappler.com
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