Cat Zingano Dominates Marion Reneau to Earn Unanimous Decision Win at UFC in Boise
Cat Zingano is finally back in the win column.
The former UFC title contender had fallen on harder times in recent years after suffering a loss to Ronda Rousey in 2015 and then suffering two more defeats with an inconsistent fight schedule plaguing her career.
Thankfully, Zingano endured and came back to look better than ever with a dominant victory against a top 10 ranked opponent in Marion Reneau on Saturday night in Boise, Idaho.
Both fighters had their moments early with Reneau slamming home a big right hand repeatedly throughout the opening round that snapped Zingano’s head back as she tried to find her balance on the feet.
Zingano fired back with several takedowns that brought Reneau crashing down to the ground, although she didn’t do much on the mat once she took the fight there. Still, Zingano’s ability to out wrestle Reneau definitely gave her a weapon to use throughout the contest.
At the start of the second round, Reneau came out like a ball of fire with a heavy barrage of strikes with several punches stinging Zingano on the feet. Zingano countered with a well timed single leg takedown that once again had Reneau playing defense off her back.
That takedown heavy pressure from Zingano continued as the round ticked away as she put Reneau on the mat and then began unleashing elbows along with short punches from the inside.
ALPHA ?#UFCBoise pic.twitter.com/Q5yM9ala6Q
— UFC (@ufc) July 15, 2018
While she was dominant with the takedowns, Zingano kept allowing Reneau to get back to the feet before then finding an opening to wrestle her down again.
Once the third round got underway, Zingano had completely settled into her ground attack as she continuously put Reneau on her back before then exploding with strikes from the top.
Zingano was absolutely suffocating with her ground control while also managing to do damage with her strikes, which left Reneau bloody and bruised when the fight came to a close.
After three rounds, the judges agreed with Zingano earning the victory 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.
She's ready to go.@CatZingano welcome back to the win column. #UFCBoise pic.twitter.com/KIL04lPFIl
— UFC (@ufc) July 15, 2018
Zingano has endured a tough run in recent years dealing with injuries and tragedy in her personal life but the former title contender definitely returned to form on Saturday night with a lopsided win in Boise. Zingano is now back on track as she looks to climb up the rankings towards title contention again in the near future.
