Cat Zingano striving to set example for son after personal tragedy

LAS VEGAS — Through the lowest of lows, Cat Zingano never took her focus off the welfare of her son, Brayden.

The undefeated UFC women's bantamweight contender had her fortune take a tumble in the summer of 2013, when a bad knee injury caused her to pull out of a coaching slot alongside Ronda Rousey on "The Ultimate Fighter," as well as the title shot at Rousey's belt which went with it.

Then things got considerably worse in January, when the 32-year-old's husband, Mauricio, committed suicide.

But no matter how bleak it seemed to get, Zingano was determined to show her 7-year-old child that a human being can persevere, no matter what life might throw his or her way.

"When life is going to present you with tons of problems — really hard ones, some less hard, some debilitating — it's what you do about them that matters," Zingano told reporters at a recent UFC media event. "I really want him to see. I want to make a good example."

That laser-focused resilience has served the Colorado native well. While her recent turmoil was the sort of thing that one never truly puts in the past, the single mother has emerged stronger than ever to be an example for her son.

And with her newfound wisdom, Zingano has come full circle. She will face Rousey for the women's bantamweight title on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles in the co-feature bout of UFC 184, nearly two years after she first earned the fight.

"I just knew it was a matter of action and a matter of time," Zingano said. "What's in me is un-nameable. I don't know how to describe it to you guys. But I am just confident and I know what I'm capable of and no one has still seen it."

The indefatigable willpower which pushed Zingano to come back from her injury and personal tragedy is the same trait which makes Zingano, who has won eight of her nine career fights via finish, one of Rousey's most intriguing foes.

Zingano first demonstrated her fighting spirit for UFC fans at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale on April 13, 2013, when she stole the show in Las Vegas with a victory over former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate. Zingano endured a beating in the opening round. She held her own in the second, then turned the tide in third, unleashing a wicked assault of knees in the clinch which earned her the victory, the title shot, and a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus.

If there was any doubt Zingano still had a deep reservoir of will, she proved it at UFC 178, when she returned to action after a year and a half out of the cage and faced Amanda Nunes. Once again, Zingano was on the wrong side of a slow start. Once again, she rallied for a fierce finish, this time earning a TKO in the second round.

"I have heart and you can't break heart," Zingano said. "You can sit there and punch me in the head for three minutes straight, but I'm gonna figure it out. I always do. I just know that about myself. Part of me thinks that I almost need to feel everything they have and once I've felt it all, once I'm like, 'Alright, you've given me everything, you have nothing left to give.' I'm like, 'all right, my turn.' "

While Zingano knows she's got a motor that won't stop, she can't quite pinpoint when it gets turned on.

"Sometime during fight day, the switch goes on in my head," Zingano said. "It's not there when I wake up in my hotel room. I guess it's sometime after I get to the arena, get into that environment, get used to the surroundings."

Either way, it all adds up to a fighter who, unlike several of Rousey's recent foes, won't be psyched out by the champ before they ever step into the Octagon.

Rousey has been complimentary toward Zingano in recent interviews, praising her for her courage through tough personal times.

Deep down, Zingano returns the respect. But with the professional goal which was obstructed by so many unexpected obstacles finally in sight, she's having a hard time being too nice to her opponent.

"When I look at her, there's a big part of me that wants to say, 'What's up?' But I also have this wall and none of that can happen until the fight's over," Zingano said. "I can't even think about that, I can't be on that level with her, because when the time comes, I'm gonna try to kill her. I can't look at her as anything other than an opponent right now."

After the fight, when Zingano can simply go back to being a mom, then perhaps she'll come up with something nicer to say about Rousey. Win or lose, though, she'll be able to hold her head high, knowing she served as Brayden Zingano's role model on how to handle adversity.

"I need to keep moving forward and just see the white dove at the end of all this," Zingano said. "Being strong, showing that you will see things through no matter what comes your way, that's what matters most to me."

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: @DaveDoyleMMA.