Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s bantamweight No. 1 contender, Cat Zingano, was expecting to make headlines with her jump to featherweight at the UFC 232 pay-per-view (PPV) event last Sat. night (Dec. 29, 2018) in Inglewood, California.
Pretty sure this isn’t what she had in mind.
“Alpha” was stopped by way of technical knockout when Megan Anderson uncorked a head kick that ended with her big toe in Zingano’s eye (video). The end result was some pretty significant damage that left her under a doctor’s care.
“I have a damaged iris, damaged retina, hemorrhage in the back of my eye, increased globe pressure and of course the laceration,” Zingano told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. “They want me back at the doctor every three to four days to make sure there’s no detachment on the retina.
Zingano told ESPN she hasn’t ruled out filing an appeal.
Unfortunately for the longtime contender, Anderson’s kick was legal, the toe just happened to land in her eye at the worst possible angle. The good news for Zingano is that she appears to have escaped any permanent damage, assuming she stays the current course.
Anderson isn’t opposed to having a rematch if the promotion believes their bout left some unfinished business, though I would imagine a fight against “Cyborg” — who is also coming off a loss at UFC 232 — might satisfy this longterm wish.
Time will tell.
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