Marion Reneau
Age: 41
Nationality: American
MMA Record: 9-3-1
UFC Record: 5-2-1
Notable Wins: Sara McMann, Jessica Andrade
Notable Losses: Holly Holm
Last Fight: Submission win over Sara McMann
Fighter Profile: One of the top contenders in the UFC women’s bantamweight division, Reneau has really impressed in the last couple of years as he’s currently riding a four-fight unbeaten streak. Reneau has a very well-rounded game with a solid striking attack on the feet to go along with a nasty submission game on the ground. She has really good cardio as well and gets stronger the fight goes on. Her only true loss in her entire career came in a striking matchup against Holm, as her split decision loss to Ashlee Evans-Smith was a horrible decision that went against her. Lately Reneau has shown a complete game with very few holes in it and with a couple more wins she could be in line for a title shot in the women’s bantamweight division.
Cat Zingano
Age: 36
Nationality: American
MMA Record: 9-3
UFC Record: 2-3
Notable Wins: Amanda Nunes, Miesha Tate, Raquel Pennington
Notable Losses: Julianna Pena, Ronda Rousey
Last Fight: Decision loss to Ketlen Vieira
Fighter Profile: Once a top title contender in the women’s bantamweight division, Zingano’s career has really went off the rails. After knocking out Nunes and Tate to open her UFC career, a submission loss to Rousey set off a bad chain of events for Zingano, who is now on a three-fight losing streak and who has suffered a number of issues in her personal life as well that haven’t helped. She hasn’t been very active in recent years and even she she has fought she just doesn’t look like the powerful fighter she once was. Her takedown defense and cardio have been disappointing in recent fights, but at the same time, you can’t completely discount her skillset. She has a lot of knockout power for a women’s bantamweight fighter and she also has a solid submission game as well. If she can put it all together, Zingano still has the chance to be a title contender at 135lbs, but she’ll need to turn things aroud quickly if she wants that to happen.
Fight Breakdown: Zingano has the bigger wins and has fought the higher level of competition, but I don’t know how anyone could trust her to beat a red-hot Reneau at this point of their respective careers. Zingano just hasn’t looked good in her last few fights while Reneau seems to be getting better every time we see her in the Octagon. It’s kind of crazy that Reneau is five years older because she sure doesn’t fight like it. Both women are very well-rounded fighters but I think Reneau has put it together better in the Octagon as of late. I think Reneau can use her striking to outpoint Zingano on the feet and she should have the better cardio in this one as well. At the end of 15 minutes, I think Reneau gets the decision nod on the judges’ scorecards.
Prediction: Marion Reneau via decision
