Miesha Tate Feels Fight Against Cat Zingano Was Stopped Early
By Josh Sanchez
UFC women’s bantamweight contenders Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano squared off at the TUF 17 Finale over the weekend. Zingano was able to earn the victory via TKO stoppage after landing some devastating knees from the clinch. Watching the fight live, many believed that the fight may have been stopped prematurely, and you can count Miesha Tate among those who share that belief.
Tate ranted about what she felt to be an early stoppage during the TUF 17 Finale post-fight press conference.
“I’m pissed to say the least,” Tate said. “I’m definitely not happy. I still feel like I was in the fight. I don’t for one second feel like it should have been stopped. I’m a fighter and I wanted to keep fighting.”
“Kim came in and told me before we ever left the locker room that, ‘If I warn you to move, all I need to know is that you want to stay in the fight. I felt that I did that. I got from the bottom, up. I got kneed a few times on the way. I tried to shoot another shot, and the fight was stopped.
“I sat up. I shot a double. I got to my feet. I took some damage because of that, because I was trying to listen to the referee, and she f—— stopped the fight. She told me to, ‘Show me something.’ I don’t know what you want?”
Her anger is understandable.
There was a lot riding on that fight with a title shot and coaching gig on The Ultimate Fighter season 18 on the line. It would have been a great opportunity for Tate to market herself even more and get in the public spotlight, but for now it is Cat Zingano’s time.