Cat Zingano is the No.1 fighter in the Bellator MMA Women’s Featherweight Rankings, sitting three spots above Leah McCourt. That said, the chances are that the winner of the Bellator 293 co-main event will get a shot at the title, which is currently held by Cris Cyborg.
Cat Zingano vs. Leah McCourt Odds
| Spread | Odds |
|---|---|
| Cat Zingano | -400 |
| Leah McCourt | +300 |
*Odds taken from BetOnline on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.
When, Where, and How to Watch?
- Place: Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California
- Date: Friday, March 31, 2023
- Time: ~10:00 PM ET
- How to Watch: Showtime
Cat Zingano Going for Her Fourth Bellator MMA Win
Cat Zingano is 13-4 in her professional career, with all four losses happening during her UFC days. Plus, all of those defeats happened to true legends of the sport.
Her first-ever loss happened to Ronda Rousey in the UFC championship fight. Rowdey beat her by submission after only 14 seconds, which does seem bad. However, keep in mind that at the time Zingano was going through a bad period of her life, with her husband committing suicide only a year earlier. Speaking of which, she did destroy Amanda Nunes by TKO just five months after her husband’s death.
Zingano suffered one more loss inside the distance – Megan Anderson beat her by TKO in round 1 in 2018, but it came after Zingano injured her eye. The remaining two losses happened by a decision – to Juliana Pena (unanimous) and Katlen Vieira (split).
The loss to Anderson was her final UFC fight. Almost two years later, she made her Bellator MMA debut. It was an easy matchup (Gabby Holloway), but she then went on to beat two tougher opponents (Olivia Parker and Pam Sorenson). Still, her toughest challenge since coming to Bellator MMA is on the program this Friday.
Leah McCourt Could be the Next Big Think in Featherweight Division
Leah McCourt is only 30 but she already has a pretty impressive MMA portfolio. She’s 7-2 since the start of her professional career back in 2017. Before that, she competed in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, winning gold medals on the international level.
Knowing this, it should come as no surprise that she’s an expert wrestler and grappler. On top of that, she also moves very fast, not letting her opponents land too many strikes. However, the fact is that she still hasn’t fought such a good striker as Zingano. That said, there’s a big question mark on whether she can handle Zingano’s power.
Cat Zingano vs. Leah McCourt Prediction
Cat Zingano is turning 41 this summer, meaning that there’s not much time left for her to win a title (and the money that comes along with it). But if she beats Leah McCourt on Friday, she will almost certainly get a chance to take the championship belt away from Cris Cyborg in a few months’ time.
That sure seems like good enough of motivation for Zingano to go all-in at Bellator 293. We think she’s gonna fight her best fight in years this weekend, possibly even beating her opponent with ground-and-pound in round 1.
Pick: Cat Zingano to win by KO/TKO in round 1