Cat Zingano suffered a first round TKO loss to Megan Anderson at UFC 232, but the win came in controversial fashion. Anderson would attack Zingano with a high kick, which saw the toe on Anderson’s foot hit Zingano in the eye, which is not illegal under the Unified Rules Of MMA.
The fighter knows that if the rules don’t start changing, it could mean open season on eye pokes.
“If they don’t make a rule on it, it’s open season on eye pokes,” Zingano said backstage at UFC Phoenix (via MMA Junkie). “I’ve got mad dexterity with my toes, so if you’re telling me we get to just aim for people’s eyeballs with our toes now, that’s not really safe moving forward, but we’ll all find a way to win. If you put me in some thing on the ground, and I get to dig my toes into your eyes, too, that’s kind of gnarly, but we’re in there trying to survive. Me or you, man.”
Zingano did file an appeal with the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), who denied the appeal, but recommended the rules regarding eye pokes be looked at.
Although Zingano does know that there are risks when competing in MMA, one that she isn’t willing to take is the loss of an eye.
“I caught nothing but toe in my eye,” Zingano said. “She didn’t kick me in the head. It would otherwise not even messed up my hair. It scared me, and I’m not willing to lose an eye for this sport.”
There is no word yet on when or if Zingano will return to action, but more should be known as the injured eye heals up.
