Cat Zingano Says a Potential TUF Coaching Slot Gives Her Extra Motivation Against Meisha Tate
Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 03.19.2013
She's focused on the fight...
Cat Zingano recently spoke with MMAjunkie about her fight with Miesha Tate at TUF Finale 17, which as revealed over the weekend will have a coaching spot opposite Ronda Rousey on TUF 8 at stake. Check out the highlights:
On not seeing UFC 158: "I really focused on myself and having my day-by-day routine go by, so if that means I have to sleep through one (event) to get rest to go kick ass the next day, then that's the sacrifice I make."
On Dana White telling her about the potential TUF coaching gig: "I was just like, 'Wow. Wow. That's sweet. Wow.' And he's like, 'Are you happy?' And I'm like, 'Yeah. Wow. Wow.'"
On the potential coaching spot: "Who wouldn't want to coach 'The Ultimate Fighter?' But right now, I'm starting at Miesha, and none of that is even possible if I don't get past this fight. It's easier to talk about it April 14 than it is now."
On her focus: "The task at hand is to beat Miesha. The motivation I get from knowing that that is something that lies behind winning this fight, it's definitely made me pick things up. I want that. I really do. So I've been hitting these days hard."
On meeting Rousey backstage at UFC 157: "She looked a little miserable. We didn't really have any interaction, and I prefer it that way because I'm not here to make friends. Ronda has what I want, and Miesha is in the way of what I want, so I'm definitely looking for that title. I feel like I was meant to do this."
On her interview where she said Rousey's UFC 157 performance wasn't that impressive: "I felt like I was set up for disaster on that one. I was impressed by her performance. They put me right next to the person I was going to fight, and there was a little bit of nervousness there, sitting there talking about a game plan and what I thought about that fight. Because I'm not thinking about that fight. I'm thinking about my fight. So I totally think Ronda and Liz had a great fight. However, I'm still not thinking about their fight. I want to keep the momentum going. They had an exciting performance that people were happy with. That was the wish I had the entire time. I'm not saying that I'm not impressed. It's just that Ronda has had an armbar in every fight that she's had. [I was asked] if she's a one-trick pony, and by definition, if you finish every fight with the exact same move, what else would you say to that? I finish fights too, and I've never finished fights the same way twice. It's not that I'm not impressed. It's just that if I'm going to put myself in the position on where I stand on the result of their fight, I have a bigger arsenal that. She got an armbar down. I'm confident in a lot more things."
