Seven years ago today, Cat Zingano, known as “Alpha,” left the Octagon deeply concerned after suffering a severe injury.
While the UFC wrapped up its 2025 schedule on December 13, it traditionally held events through the end of each calendar year. On December 29, 2018, the promotion hosted its final card of the year at the Forum in Inglewood, California, delivering an action-packed night.
At UFC 232, Amanda Nunes scored a knockout over Cris Cyborg in the co-main event, while Jon Jones triumphed over Alexander Gustafsson for the second time in the main event. Despite these victories for two UFC legends, another fighter faced a devastating outcome.
Cat Zingano, a former challenger for the women’s bantamweight title, returned for the thrilling main card night, which also featured Alexander Volkanovski’s knockout victory against Chad Mendes. However, Zingano’s fight against featherweight Megan Anderson ended abruptly when Anderson’s head kick struck Zingano’s eye, causing a painful and severe eyelid injury just 61 seconds in. The fight was stopped, and Zingano was more focused on the damage to her eye than the fight result, fearing she might lose her sight.
A few months later, Zingano shared with reporters in Phoenix how the injury affected her depth perception and dexterity, though she was gradually improving. She described the pain as unlike anything she’d ever experienced, even comparing it to previous severe injuries like a dislocated jaw and broken ribs, which felt less agonizing than the eye injury.
In more recent developments related to eye injuries in MMA, Tom Aspinall, who faced Cyrill Gane in the only heavyweight title fight of 2025, revealed that Gane’s eye poke caused serious damage. His fight, UFC 321, ended in a no-contest due to the injury. Aspinall has since undergone two surgeries and expects to have additional operations on both eyes before he can return to the Octagon, aiming for a mid-January surgery and a comeback thereafter.
Fan Take: This kind of news highlights the brutal realities fighters face beyond just the win-loss record, reminding fans that injuries—especially to vulnerable areas like the eyes—can have lasting impacts on careers and lives. It’s crucial for the sport to continue advancing protections and medical care to safeguard athletes while maintaining the intensity that makes MMA so compelling.
