Tag: Cat Zingano

Davis-Machida 2, Archuleta-Mix title fight lead back-to-back Bellator shows Sept. 11-12

Bellator is no stranger to putting on back-to-back shows in Connecticut. Now the promotion will go down that road again next month.

Bellator is no stranger to putting on back-to-back shows in Connecticut. Now the promotion will go down that road again next month.

Bellator 245 and Bellator 246 are slated for consecutive nights Sept. 11-12 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. A person with knowledge of the events confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Wednesday following an initial report from ESPN.

The Bellator 245 headliner will be a rematch between former Bellator light heavyweight champion [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) and former UFC champ [autotag]Lyoto Machida[/autotag] (26-9 MMA, 2-1 BMMA). In addition, former UFC title challenger [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will make her promotional debut against [autotag]Gabrielle Holloway[/autotag] (6-5 MMA, 1-2 BMMA).

At Bellator 246, the vacant bantamweight title will be on the line between [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (24-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA). Plus, [autotag]Jon Fitch[/autotag] (32-7-2 MMA, 1-1-1 BMMA) is set to take on [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) at welterweight.

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Davis and Machida fought at UFC 163 a little more than seven years ago in Brazil, where Davis won a mildly controversial unanimous decision. Although all three judges scored the fight for him 29-28, none of the media members tracked by MMADecisions.com scored the fight for Davis.

Davis won Bellator’s light heavyweight title in 2016, but lost it in his first defense to current dual champion Ryan Bader. Since that setback, he’s gone 4-1, including back-to-back wins over former champ Liam McGeary and Karl Albrektsson in 2019. His lone loss in that stretch was a split call to Vadim Nemkov, who on Friday challenges Bader for the light heavyweight belt.

Machida will be looking to rebound from a split decision loss to Gegard Mousasi in September 2019. Prior to that, he had four straight wins, including his first two in Bellator after coming over from the UFC in 2018 as a free agent. He took a split call from Rafael Carvalho in his promotional debut and stopped Chael Sonnen with a second-round TKO before his loss to Mousasi.

Archuleta was cruising through the Bellator ranks and had fought at both featherweight and bantamweight. He earned a title shot against 145-pound champ Patricio Freire in September 2019, but lost a unanimous decision for his first setback in the promotion. In January, he bounced back with a win over Henry Corrales at featherweight, but now he’ll drop back down to 135 pounds to go after a belt.

Mix stayed unbeaten this past December in a crossover fight at Rizin 20 when he submitted Yuki Motoya in the first round on New Year’s Eve. Earlier in the year, he picked up first-round submission wins in his first two Bellator bouts against Ricky Bandejas an Isaiah Chapman. He has nine of his first 13 career wins by submission.

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Cat Zingano bares all, opens up about dangers of breast implant illness

Bellator women’s contender Cat Zingano is going public with a very private battle.

Bellator women’s contender [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] is going public with a very private battle.

The former UFC title challenger took to social media to reveal she recently had her breast implants removed after suffering through illnesses she believes were due to the toxicity of “foreign objects being placed inside the body.”

“This was a big and intimidating decision and something that I encourage anyone with random, stubborn and undiagnosable symptoms to look up,” Zingano wrote. “It’s not just breast implants (expletive) people up, it’s an immune system attack because of foreign objects being placed inside the body… look it up and see if and where it fits. Some people are completely fine with implants, some people end up dead.”

Zingano went on to state that she has been dealing with unexplainable illnesses for years and sought out the assistance of Dr. Lu-Jean Feng, who advised her on the dangers of implant toxicity, leading to her decision.

Zingano’s full statement (via Instagram):

This is my first photo shoot since I had my big surgery. I sensed and researched #BII a couple years ago but I didn’t believe in the severity and didn’t want to risk the change in vanity until I was watching it start to really kick my ass. I got sick, so sick, without explanation. I went to @drlujeanfeng and saw/met both men and women suffering from the same implant toxicity. Some had had implants for decades, some had had implants for months. Although I loved my curves, and I don’t regret the decision to fix my breasts after I had my son, if I knew then what I know now, I’d have made different choices. I have felt so much better since the explant. I’ve seen first hand how much worse it can get and I was extremely supported by my friend and fellow patient @shuriecremona who can inform you much more intelligently about it. I’m still rehabbing my lungs, ribs, endocrine system, muscles and some other related issues, however, my close people and I can all agree that I’m doing much better than they have seen in a long long time.
My training has improved ten-fold (just watch my videos) and I feel so much improvement overall. I’m told there’s so much more recovery to come too!
This photo shoot was about TRUE LOVE for my body and TRUE FREEDOM for my health. Thank you for being supportive. This was a big and intimidating decision and something that I encourage anyone with random, stubborn and undiagnosable symptoms to look up. It’s not just breast implants fucking people up, it’s an immune system attack because of foreign objects being placed inside the body… look it up and see if and where it fits. Some people are completely fine with implants, some people end up dead. The FDA is now required to label implants with this caution of health risk. Do your research. Much love. Wear your scars. 📸 @ericcoleman

View this post on Instagram

This is my first photo shoot since I had my big surgery. I sensed and researched #BII a couple years ago but I didn’t believe in the severity and didn’t want to risk the change in vanity until I was watching it start to really kick my ass. I got sick, so sick, without explanation. I went to @drlujeanfeng and saw/met both men and women suffering from the same implant toxicity. Some had had implants for decades, some had had implants for months. Although I loved my curves, and I don’t regret the decision to fix my breasts after I had my son, if I knew then what I know now, I’d have made different choices. I have felt so much better since the explant. I’ve seen first hand how much worse it can get and I was extremely supported by my friend and fellow patient @shuriecremona who can inform you much more intelligently about it. I’m still rehabbing my lungs, ribs, endocrine system, muscles and some other related issues, however, my close people and I can all agree that I’m doing much better than they have seen in a long long time. My training has improved ten-fold (just watch my videos) and I feel so much improvement overall. I’m told there’s so much more recovery to come too! This photo shoot was about TRUE LOVE for my body and TRUE FREEDOM for my health. Thank you for being supportive. This was a big and intimidating decision and something that I encourage anyone with random, stubborn and undiagnosable symptoms to look up. It’s not just breast implants fucking people up, it’s an immune system attack because of foreign objects being placed inside the body… look it up and see if and where it fits. Some people are completely fine with implants, some people end up dead. The FDA is now required to label implants with this caution of health risk. Do your research. Much love. Wear your scars. 📸 @ericcoleman

A post shared by Cat Zingano (@alphacatzingano) on

Zingano (10-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was released from the UFC this past August after an eight-fight stint with the promotion, including an unsuccessful bid for the promotion’s women’s bantamweight title. Her final fight for the organization was contested at featherweight, where she suffered an odd stoppage loss after taking a toe to the eye.

Following her release, Zingano signed to Bellator, where she has yet to make her promotional debut. However, she has stayed busy in her preparation, which she said has improved “ten-fold” since the procedure.

View this post on Instagram

Burn out rounds of the day 😩🙏🏼😽…

A post shared by Cat Zingano (@alphacatzingano) on

What does Bellator do with Cris Cyborg? Four potential options after her title win

Breaking down the potential next fight options for Bellator women’s featherweight champ Cris Cyborg.

[autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] added another layer to her legacy to kick off 2020 when she claimed her fourth major promotional title by taking the Bellator women’s featherweight belt from Julia Budd.

Cyborg (22-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) has been the most dominant women’s featherweight fighter in MMA history. She may have lost to Amanda Nunes in the UFC, and a rematch may ended a similar way. But there is no one else who is her equal at the moment.

So what kind of predicament does that leave Bellator in? The promotion is kept to a lower standard and can get away with borderline grotesque mismatches more than its UFC counterpart. People have seen Cyborg in those types of fights for more than a decade, though, and it would be in Bellator’s best interest to seek out the biggest challenges.

Bellator president Scott Coker has even said he’s open to Cyborg taking a boxing match or any other unique challenges she wants to pursue. No one is raving to see that since MMA is the Brazilian’s best space. In light of that, here are four other more compelling options.

* * * *

1. Rematch with Budd

Let’s just get this one out of he way immediately: Yes, Cyborg’s fourth-round TKO of Budd was convincing, but it was also far less one-sided than most Cyborg fights. Budd’s size and strength automatically make her a compelling opponent, and if the Canadian can improve on some lessons learned from the initial encounter, she could potentially close the gap in a second fight.

And more so than anything, Budd deserves the opportunity. She distinguished herself as Bellator’s best female 145-pound fighter over a seven-fight winning streak and three title defenses before running into Cyborg. On paper, she is the most credible and legitimate opponent for Cyborg on the Bellator roster.

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