Cat Zingano thought she was going to lose her eye in her last fight

Feb 20 2019

(Subscribe to MMAWeekly.com on YouTube)

Cat Zingano's most recent fight, a loss to Megan Anderson, only lasted a minute, but it was a minute that nearly changed the course of her life. Zingano thought that her entire world had suffered a drastic shift in direction when Anderson's toe went directly into her eye. 

It wasn't considered an illegal strike since it wasn't a finger poke, but it had similar damaging results and caused an end to the bout in Anderson's favor. But for Zingano, at that moment, she wasn't even thinking about the win or the loss, she was thinking about whether or not she'd ever be able to use that eye again.

“I thought I lost my eye,” Zingano said in a scrum with reporters at the recent UFC Fight Night on ESPN in Phoenix. “I thought if I opened my eye it was going to spill out onto my face. I didn’t want to open it in the cage. When they came up and they checked it, they told me to open it. I said, ‘You’re not the one that I’m gonna open this for.’ Like, ‘I need somebody that knows what’s up to be looking at me.’ I thought I lost it.”

She can now look back on the moment with a better perspective, knowing she isn't going to lose her eye and that she should return to some sort of normalcy with it. 

TRENDING > Cain Velasquez on Freak Knee Injury During Francis Ngannou Fight (UFC on ESPN 1)

Aside from talking to the media about the incident and her concern of possibly losing her eye, Zingano was actually able to tell a few humorous stories about meeting up with former UFC champion Michael Bisping and current UFC trainer Mike Winkeljohn, both of whom have suffered permanent eye injuries.

Khabib Nurmagomedov wants Georges St-Pierre to push back retirement so they can fight

Feb 20 2019

Khabib Nurmagomedov isn’t giving up on his desire to face Georges St-Pierre before he retires.

The reigning UFC lightweight champion sent out a message aimed at St-Pierre on Wednesday after news broke that the 37-year old Canadian was expected to announce his retirement this week.

St-Pierre scheduled a press conference on Thursday in Montreal with expectations that he would announce his retirement from the sport after failing to secure a fight with Nurmagomedov that would have allowed him to return to action.

There are no details on any negotiations that took place with the UFC, Nurmagomedov and St-Pierre but obviously the matchup didn’t get scheduled.

Now Nurmagomedov is making a final plea to St-Pierre to push back his retirement with hopes of booking a fight against him in November.

“Let’s do it in November,” Nurmagomedov wrote on Instagram. “After this fight you can retire. I grow up on your fights, and have nothing but respect for you, and I believe showed that to you George when you were in Moscow.

“But, it would be honor for me to share Octagon with one of the greatest fighters of all time. Let’s do it 155 pounds, or I give away five pounds to you, cause you [never] done 155. Well, it’s your choice 155 or 160, Montreal, NYC, Moscow or Abu Dhabi. Send me location my Friend.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuHLDHDgvil/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=34fqyr2q43v7

Nurmagomedov isn’t expected to fight again until after October while standing in solidarity with his teammates who were each suspended one year for their participation in a post fight brawl at UFC 229 last year.

Nurmagomedov remains under suspension until at least July after the Nevada State Athletic Commission gave him a nine-months sentence for his role in initiating the brawl.

After the punishments were handed out, Nurmagomedov said he would pay his teammates’ fines and sit out for the full year alongside them before returning to action.

As for St-Pierre, it’s not likely he’s going to push back his retirement date for the potential fight but he’ll make the announcement himself on Thursday.

Brendan Allen believes defending his title at LFA 61 will land him in a bigger promotion

Feb 20 2019

After a rough start to 2018, middleweight Brendan Allen rebounded to finish out the year on a winning streak.

According to Allen, sometimes things don’t go a fighter’s way and there was no need for a major overhaul following his January 2018 loss to Anthony Hernandez at LFA 32.

“I think 2018 started out really poorly,” Allen told MMAWeekly.com. “I had the worst performance I’ve ever had (against Hernandez). I come back and put two good victories on my resume. I’m looking to build off of that.

“Sometimes you just don’t perform that night. You have an off night. That’s what I had: I had a really bad, off, night. I took some things away, but nothing major. I don’t do those things in training (that I did in the fight). I feel like I gained a lot. I definitely feel like I’m continuing to grow and get better.”

Entering his fourth year as a pro in 2019, Allen feels like this could be the year he shows his full potential after not having the opportunity to display the kind of fighter he truly is in the past.

“I don’t feel like I’ve ever put my whole self into the cage,” said Allen. “Like the guy that I train (to be) doesn’t fight in the cage sometimes.

“I definitely feel this year that this year I’ve done a lot of things different in the past year with coaches, and training, and mentality, and everything like that to where this year is going to be a big breakout year for me.”

On February 22 in Prior Lake, Minnesota, Allen (10-3) will look to make the first defense of his title when he faces Moses Murrietta (8-1) in a 185-pound championship main event at LFA 61.

TRENDING > Nick Diaz Has No Plans to Return to Fighting Unless There’s An ‘Offer I Couldn’t Refuse’

“Honestly I kind of asked for Moses,” Allen said. “I felt like it was his shot. He has enough fights. He has finishes. He comes from a good gym. He has had good performances. I definitely felt like he was next in line. I’ve only asked for the best guys. I’ve never asked for any scrubs. I asked for him and I got my wish.

“He’s a good boxer and a good kickboxer. He’s tough and durable. That’s what I’m expecting: I’m not expecting anything less from him at all. I think we both know that my ground is better than his. My wrestling is better than his. Am I’m looking to go out there and show him that my striking is better than his as well.”

With a successful title defense on February 22, Allen could finally punch his ticket to the next level. Even with that opportunity on the horizon, he’s still focused on Murrietta first and foremost.

“That’s what I was doing; just trying to do my best to do what I can and focus on me; but I’m at the point not only in my career but my life where I’m ready to take that next step,” said Allen. “I’ve been here long enough. I definitely feel that it’s time to go into the UFC or a bigger promotion where I get paid good money to do what I do.

“I feel like after this fight is the next step. I think I’ve put in my time. I know what I need to do. With a finish over Moses I think this is going to put me where I need to be. Again I’m not looking past Moses. Everything I have is set on Moses and that’s where I’m at right now.”

Georges St-Pierre expected to announce his retirement during Thursday press conference

Feb 20 2019

Georges St-Pierre appears to be ready to call it a career. 

The legendary former two-division UFC champion is expected to announce his retirement at an upcoming press conference scheduled for Thursday in his native Montreal.

The press conference will be held at the Bell Centre, which served as the backdrop to many of St-Pierre’s biggest fights in the UFC and that is also where he will officially walk away from mixed martial arts for good.

The news of St-Pierre’s pending retirement was first reported by RDS on Wednesday.

According to reports, St-Pierre was hopeful to book one more fight against reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov later this year. When that matchups didn’t materialize, St-Pierre ultimately decided to call it a day.

St-Pierre had previously mentioned moving down to lightweight to challenge Nurmagomedov but UFC president Dana White immediately shot down the idea when it was presented to him.

The former champion returned to action for the UFC in 2017 where he defeated Michael Bisping to become middleweight champion and then surrendered the belt a few weeks later. White’s argument was that St-Pierre could potentially win the lightweight title and then create havoc in the division by doing the same thing again if he got past Nurmagomedov.

Ultimately, the fight never came together and it appears that was enough to make St-Pierre decide that it was time to walk away from the sport and call it a career.

St-Pierre is widely considered one of the greatest fighters of all time with a resume that is virtually unmatched by any other competitor in the history of the sport.

As a nine-time defending welterweight champion, St-Pierre was a force of nature at 170 pounds where he ran roughshod over every contender thrown in his path.

In 2013, St-Pierre took a sabbatical from fighting while also giving up his welterweight title after earning a close, hard fought decision over Johny Hendricks. St-Pierre finally returned for that lone fight against Bisping in 2017 and hasn’t fought since.

Now it appears St-Pierre is ready to retire from the sport as the 37-year old legend prepares to announce the news on Thursday.