Rousey to defend title vs. Zingano at UFC 182 in January
Cat Zingano will put her own undefeated record on the line in order to try and blemish Ronda Rousey's at UFC 182 on Jan. 3.
The list of fighters waiting for a shot at Rousey, the 10-0 UFC Women's Bantamweight champion, is a long one. Contract talks with Gina Carano have developed slowly, there are complications to getting a Cyborg Justino bout lined up and the UFC apparently wasn't willing to gift Rousey a shot at Bethe Correia just yet.
And so Zingano, 9-0 and 2-0 inside the octagon, draws the title shot, which UFC president Dana White confirmed on "UFC Tonight" on Wednesday. Zingano had previously been in line for a title shot before tearing her ACL in May, requiring a September victory over Amanda Nunes to re-establish her candidacy.
Rousey last fought on July 5, destroying Alexa Davis in 16 seconds, as she's wont to do.
Rousey and Zingano should slot in second behind the Jon Jones-Daniel Cormier fight on what now appears to be a loaded card.