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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Miesha Tate's not happy with the way her fight with Cat Zingano ended on Saturday's Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale. The former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champ appeared to be ahead going into the third round of their fight, but Zingano came on strong in the third, pouring on strike after strike after strike before scoring a stoppage with a series of knees against the cage.
But Tate doesn't think the fight should have been stopped. Though she was admittedly in a bad way, she felt she was still in the fight, and was trying to shoot for a leg as referee Kim Winslow stepped in.
"I'm pissed to say the least," Tate said after the event (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). "I'm definitely not happy. I mean, f***, I still feel like I was in the fight. I don't for one second feel like it should have been stopped."
"[Kim] came in and told me before we ever left the locker room that, 'If I warn you to move, all I need to know is that you want to stay in the fight.' I felt that I did that. I got from the bottom up. I got kneed a few times on the way. I tried to shoot another shot, and the fight was stopped. I didn't feel like I was out of the fight."
Compounding that was an image she was sent after the fight showing that one of the knees delivered by Zingano could have been illegal. It appeared her hand may have been touching the canvas. But ultimately, she felt she wasn't given a fair shake by Winslow to get back into that fight.
"I'm a fighter; I wanted to keep fighting," Tate said. "I came out strong those first two rounds. I felt excellent. She's petty heavy from top position, but [Winslow] told me to 'Show me something.' I don't know what you want.
"I sat up. I shot a double. I got to my feet. I took some damage because of that because I was trying to listen to the referee, and she f***ing stopped the fight. What do you want, you know?"
Penick's Analysis: Given the referee in question and her track record, it's reasonable to question the stoppage. It's certainly not the most egregious early stoppage, but when Tate dropped down from the final elbow, it looked as if she was diving for a leg. That's not to say she was necessarily going to avoid a stoppage seconds later anyway, but it was certainly earlier intervention from Winslow than was perhaps necessary. And given what was on the line, it's not surprising to see Tate have that reaction. That said, she was in a really bad spot. She got hit by three brutal knees to the face in a row, and Zingano was dialing up her attack. It was a great comeback in a really good fight, and Tate will get herself back in the mix soon enough.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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