March 29, 2023 Chicago, Illinois Peyton Nolting
The sub-main of the card, but in my eyes the main event. The winner of this fight was able to position herself for a shot at the title in the women’s featherweight division.Zingano’s name follows the early stories of Ronda Rousey, Amanda Nunes and Miesha Tate. It’s a name many of you are likely to recognize if you’ve been around or been a casual fan for a while. As for Leah McCourt, she is an up-and-comer and has swept Bellator with her 6-1 record. I watched both fighters’ last few bouts, analyzed each fighter’s path to victory, and a promising title shot against current champion Chris Cyborg (unless she resigns from Bellator). We looked at what gives the best route to .
For Cat Zingano, experience is what counts most. She needs to know that she’s the more sophisticated fighter in the cage on Friday nights, and if she can use that to her advantage, this could be a lot easier for her. One of the biggest things I take away from myself as a wrestler is that she is relentless when she goes for takedowns. If she can get McCourt on her back, this could be huge for Zingano.At Media Day, McCourt said he had never fought a grappler.
In the case of Leah McCourt, she needs to keep this on her feet and try to score points. She’s from a great gym in Ireland and while it’s silly to believe she doesn’t train in grappling, Zingano should have an edge in the grappling department. Leah actually has a decent percentage of her wins by submission, but in her fight with Jessica Bolga she almost immediately turned to defense and was fighting submission attempts. In that same Volga fight, when McCourt was able to use her body to grind into the cage and polish her body, it was effective, but she can’t be sloppy because she’ll get in trouble. Most importantly for McCourt, he needs to be technically sound to stay in this fight and give himself a chance of winning.
Prediction: I think Kat Zingano will get the title shot she deserves. For Cat Zingano, this may be the last dance (a now-worn expression, but no surprise). She was a pioneer in women’s MMA, and a match against Cris Cybrorg is the perfect way for Bellator to honor this. As for Leah McCourt, this isn’t the end of her journey. She’s very young in the game. I think she’s still honing her skills. Once she learns to avoid danger and starts finishing some fights at Bellator, she’s only 30, so it’s going to be a big problem for women in her MMA later in her career.
