Monster Energy congratulates Cris Cyborg on defeating Cat Zingano to defend her Women's Featherweight World Championship title at Bellator 300 in San Diego on Saturday night.
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --The Champ does it again! Monster Energy congratulates Cris Cyborg on defeating Cat Zingano to defend her Women's Featherweight World Championship title at Bellator 300 in San Diego. In the co-main event fight, the 38-year-old from Curitiba, Brazil, stopped her opponent with a first-round knockout finish to mark the fifth successful defense of her current Bellator MMA title.
Early in the prelims, 31-year-old Leah McCourt from Belfast, Northern Ireland, earned a thunderous first-round knockout victory over Sara McMann in their flyweight division fight.
Bellator 300: Nurmagomedov vs. Primus was contested in front of a high-energy crowd inside Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The main card was broadcast live on Showtime, and the Monster Energy Prelims streamed live on YouTube.
Monster Energy's Cris Cyborg (27-2) stepped into Bellator 300 as the defending Women's Featherweight World Champion and number-one pound-for-pound fighter in the Bellator MMA promotion. The Brazilian had previously defended her title four times, most recently against Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 279 in April 2022 via unanimous decision.
Her opponent, 41-year-old American Cat Zingano (14-5), had earned her title shot with an unbroken four-fight win streak since joining the Bellator promotion in 2020. In her most recent fight, Zingano had earned a unanimous decision victory over Leah McCourt at Bellator 293.
When Zingano and Cyborg collided in the Octagon, the defending champion assumed the upper hand right from the start. Cyborg blocked a head kick and fired back with a crisp right hand that stung. This started a pattern: Whenever Zingano attempted a takedown, Cyborg retaliated with punishing shots and dominated the clinches while constantly dishing out damage.
Cyborg's barrage started taking a visible toll on the challenger early. With her kicks and offensive weapons shut down by the champ, Zingano kept lunging for takedowns. Until the pivotal moment of the fight, when Cyborg landed a heavy counterpunch and pursued her stunned opponent to the mat, raining hammer fists. At 4:01 minutes of Round 1, the referee ended the fight, pronouncing Cyborg the victor by TKO, marking her 21st career knockout and twelfth round-one knockout.
"I was a little stronger than her. I know she felt that power," said Cyborg upon defending her Bellator MMA Women's Flyweight World Championship at Bellator 300.
What's next for Cyborg? As the Women's Flyweight division regroups, the champion is headed for a title defense against Leah McCourt in the near future.
Recognized as a pioneer for women in mixed martial arts (MMA), Cyborg became the first Grand Slam Champion in the history of the sport by capturing the Featherweight World Championships in all four major franchises: Bellator MMA, UFC, Invicta FC, and Strikeforce.
Earlier in Saturday night's prelims, Irish fighter Leah McCourt (8-3) from Saintfield was looking to redeem herself from a loss to Cat Zingano at Bellator 293 in March. As her opponent, she faced Sara McMann (14-7) from Gaffney, South Carolina, fresh off a victory over Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 294.
Both fighters held no punches from the start, trading back-and-forth offensive blows in what started as a balanced fight. But once McCourt broke through her opponent's guard and assumed the top position, it was over soon.
With less than one minute on the clock, McCourt shut down McMann with heavy right hands from above, battering her opponent against the side of the cage. The rain of elbows and punches continued until referee Jason Herzog stopped the fight at 4:30 minutes, with McCourt as the winner by TKO.
"What happened tonight is literally what we drilled day in and day out with Paul and Alice, my team at Next Gen. It's just what we've done for months and months now. It's just hard work every day," said McCourt upon winning at Bellator 300 in San Diego.
On the strength of her performance at Bellator 300, McCourt earned a title shot against Monster Energy teammate Cyborg. "We'll come up with a correct formula to win that fight. I don't see why not. Anybody can be beaten. If we just prepare correctly, we can do it," said McCourt. Stay tuned for more details!
Cris Cyborg and Leah McCourt count among Monster Energy's elite MMA athletes along with Sergio Pettis, Corey Anderson, Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, Phil Davis, Brennan Ward, Aaron Pico, Johnny Eblen, Valerie Loureda, A.J. McKee, Juan Archuleta, Joey Davis, Douglas Lima, Erik Perez, Austin Vanderford, Kamaru Usman, Jon "Bones" Jones, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, Chris "The All American" Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Marlon Vera, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Alex Pereira, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga "Ninja" Chikadze, Islam Makhachev, Johnny Walker, Beneil Dariush, Gaston Bolanos, Maycee "The Future" Barber, Brendan Allen, Jalin Turner, Sean Strickland, Zhang Weili, Raul Rosas Jr. and Dan Ige.
For more on Monster Energy's MMA athletes, Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
About Monster Energy
Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, it's the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers, and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at http://www.monsterenergy.com.
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