‘The Ultimate Fighter 17’ Finale Preview

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Women’s Bantamweights

Miesha Tate (13-3, 0-0 UFC) vs. Cat Zingano (7-0, 0-0 UFC)

The Matchup: The second female bout to grace the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Octagon will give the promotion both a second challenger for reigning 135-pound titlist Ronda Rousey and an opposing coach for the Olympic judoka on the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

For ratings purposes, Tate would seem to be the ideal victor, given her already developed feud with Rousey from their 2012 bout in Strikeforce; pairing those two on a reality show would be a recipe for instant drama. However, if Zingano defeats Tate in impressive fashion, a fresh face would be welcome, for it is difficult to imagine Tate surpassing her previous effort against Rousey at this point.

As she has shown in her last two outings, Tate is nothing if not resilient. In her aforementioned encounter with Rousey, “Cupcake” somehow managed to endure and escape one armbar attempt before finally succumbing to another late in the first round. Tate also showed no fear in engaging Rousey on the feet early, and she claims to have discovered some holes in the champion’s game since that meeting. Tate was also in danger against well-traveled veteran Julie Kedzie at Strikeforce “Rousey vs. Kaufman” in August, as the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product tagged her with punches and kicks and appeared on her way to a decision victory before Tate rallied for a late armbar submission triumph.

Experience, whether it be in higher-profile fights or dealing with media, will be one significant edge Tate has over Zingano. The Broomfield, Colo., native’s most prominent bout came in her last appearance at Invicta Fighting Championships 3, where she submitted Raquel Pennington with a rear-naked choke in round two. Unbeaten in seven professional outings, Zingano also owns noteworthy triumphs over Barb Honchak, Carina Damm and Takayo Hashi, so she is not untested.

Tate will use her punches as a means to close distance, as her offensive strength lies in her ability to land takedowns, achieve top position and work steady ground-and-pound. This could prove difficult against Zingano, who, in addition to a collegiate wrestling background, trains her ground game extensively with husband Mauricio Zingano, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Like Tate, Zingano appears to be most comfortable using her striking to get into tie-up and takedown range. “Alpha” can land a variety of slams, suplexes and trips from close range, and she displayed some wicked elbows before dispatching Pennington in October.

The Pick: Tate’s ability to maintain composure will be pivotal as she attempts to get a feel for her opponent. Ultimately, she will prevail through a couple tight spots to earn a hard-fought decision triumph.

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