‘THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 18’: Cat Zingano out, Miesha Tate in to coach, fight against champion Ronda Rousey

A knee injury has sidelined Cat Zingano and created what could be the most highly anticipated rematch in the brief history of women’s MMA.

Miesha Tate will step up and coach against UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey on the 18th season of the UFC reality show ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ according to the organization, and will also take Zingano’s spot in fighting for the title in December.

Zingano defeated Tate with a third-round stoppage April 14 to earn the ‘TUF’ coaching spot opposite Rousey as well as a crack at Rousey’s belt. But Zingano tore her anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in her right knee earlier this month, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, who broke the story.

Zingano underwent surgery Tuesday and hopes to resume training in six to nine months. Iole reported that Zingano has been told she will still receive a title shot.

Tate, who felt her loss against Zingano was an early stoppage, gets a chance to avenge losing the Strikeforce bantamweight championship to Rousey in March 2012.

“This is what we really wanted all along,” Rousey told Yahoo! Sports. “Everyone said an Ultimate Fighter between me and Miesha would be the best. We have a personal history with each other and this is a personal show. For some reason, me and Miesha are intertwined in fate like Ali and Frazier or something like that.

“I think people will look back at this as one of monumental rivalries and look back at this as one of those things that really cemented women’s MMA.”

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UFC creates website to counter Culinary Union campaign

The long-standing feud between the UFC and the Culinary Worker Union Local 226 is about to pick up.

And the battleground won’t be found in Las Vegas or the Octagon, but on the internet.

For background, the Culinary Union — an affiliate of UNITE HERE — for years has attempted to unionize the employees of Station Casinos, a gaming and entertainment company in Las Vegas. The majority owners of Station Casinos are Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta, who are also majority owners of Zuffa LLC, the owner/operator of the UFC.

While Station Casinos and UFC are different legal entities with different sets of minority owners, the UFC has often been a prime source for attacks from the Culinary Union.

And perhaps in a shift from playing defense to assuming some semblance of offense, the UFC has created a website in what it says is an attempt to “correct those inaccuracies and set the record straight regarding the motivation for this campaign, while highlighting the UFC’s role as a strong community leader.”

From TheTruthAboutCulinary226.com

The Truth About Culinary 226 website provides information on Culinary Workers Union Local 226 (“Culinary Union”), an affiliate of UNITE HERE, ongoing campaign of harassment against the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) and its partners, under the guise of concern about the conduct of some UFC fighters.  However, the Culinary Union’s actual agenda has nothing to do with such conduct.  This website’s purpose is to set the record straight regarding the true motivations of the Culinary Union’s smear campaign.

 

The UFC, with more than 400 athletes, is an occasional easy target. Hate speech, homophobic slurs, threats and off-color jokes from fighters — as well as questionable comments from UFC President Dana White — catch the attention of the Culinary Union, which points them out on Twitter (@FightFairMMA) and on a blog that plays off the MMA organization’s acronym called Unfit For Children.

The reason why this conflict is building now can be found in New York, where MMA has been banned since 1997. The UFC, recognizing the golden apple to be had in The Big Apple, is anxious to hold live shows in New York. The Culinary Union is quick to point out the million-plus dollars the UFC has spent on lobbying in New York, not to mention the various clergy and faith leaders and local politicians who want the ban upheld.

On its new website, the UFC details the history of the union, its anti-UFC campaign and how much money it has been spent along the way. And with union politics keeping the UFC from getting MMA legalized in New York, it’s no wonder the UFC has taken a more aggressive approach. Few things get White’s blood boiling or curse words flying than mention of the Culinary Union.

But don’t expect the Culinary Union to back down any time soon. This fight is going five rounds and beyond — with no knockout or tapout in sight.

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UFC champion Anderson Silva takes a $50,000 trip to Brazil

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was supposed to meet with several media outlets — including a luncheon with the Daily News and other newspapers and websites — on Tuesday as part of a promotional blitz for his title defense against Chris Weidman at UFC 162.

But emails went out late Tuesday afternoon that all media events with the king of the 185-pound division were being canceled.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, he is flying home to Brazil a couple days early and will miss tomorrow’s UFC 162 press tour,” the email read.

Now news comes via the USA Today Sports that the UFC doesn’t take kindly to their stars skipping out on publicity events. And Silva’s trip to Brazil has been met with a stiff $50,000 fine by the UFC.

“We had a full media day set up for him in Los Angeles, and he just decided he didn’t want to do it, so he’s being fined $50,000,” UFC President Dana White told USA Today Sports’ John Morgan.

Silva, who has successfully defended his belt a UFC-record 10 times and is considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, takes on No. 1 contender Weidman (9-0) as the main event at UFC 162, which takes place July 6 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

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