Cowboy Cerrone and Cat Zingano floated a boat ride together this week on Lake Mead near Las Vegas. The two Colorado-born mixed martial arts fighters, days before their biggest bouts of the year, perhaps needed a breather from the rush of fight week.
They arrived at that boat, though, along wildly different paths.
Donald Cerrone, a Denver native known as “Cowboy” who now trains in Albuquerque, will fight for the fourth time this year Saturday when he goes against Ultimate Fighting Championships newcomer Eddie Alvarez as the co-main bout in UFC 178 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Zingano, who trains in Broomfield and Denver, will fight for the first time since the death of her husband. She goes against Brazil’s Amanda Nunes in a bantamweight (135 pounds) title eliminator.
“Even with everything I’ve been through, there is no doubt I wanted to come back,” Zingano said during the run-up to Saturday’s fights.
Zingano (8-0), a former wrestler at Boulder’s Fairview High, took down Miesha Tate by technical knockout in April 2013 with a barrage of elbows and knees in the third round. She immediately earned a No. 2 ranking in UFC’s newly formed women’s bantamweight division, with a title bout against Ronda Rousey in the works.
But a knee injury suffered during training — she needed surgery after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right leg — bumped her off course. Tate replaced her in the pecking order. Then Zingano’s husband and coach, Mauricio Zingano, died in January. So her fight against Nunes (9-3) comes after a 17-month layoff.
“I’m coming in with a fresh mind,” said Zingano, 32.
Cerrone, a 31-year-old former pro kick boxer, has been much more active. Saturday’s fight will be his sixth in 13 months. He’s on a four-fight win streak.
“Just the physicality of fighting is something I really enjoy,” Cerrone told reporters in Las Vegas this week.
In a lightweight (155 pounds) bout against Alvarez (25-3), Cerrone (24-6) will be facing a former champion of rival MMA circuit Bellator. Alvarez is known to be an aggressor — perhaps too much so.
“I take a lot of risks,” Alvarez said. “And so does Donald Cerrone.”
Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or
Fight card
Two Colorado-bred fighters — Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Cat Zingano — will fight in the main event card Saturday at UFC 178 in Las Vegas on pay-per-view.
Demetrious Johnson (20-2-1) vs. Chris Cariaso (17-5), flyweight title bout
Donald Cerrone, Albuquerque (24-6) vs. Eddie Alvarez, Philadelphia (25-3), co-main event, lightweights
Dustin Poirier (16-3) vs. Conor McGregor (15-2), featherweights
Cat Zingano, Broomfield (8-0) vs. Amanda Nunes, Brazil (9-3), undercard, bantamweights
