A few weeks after the fight while preparing for the show that was schedule to begin filming on May 27th Cat suffered a knee injury that required surgery.

The injury happened on May 16th as she was doing a strength and conditioning work out. She had done the same routine several times in the past and several times that same day with no problems. It consisted of jumping side to side over 6″ hurdles. After one of the jumps as she landed on her feet she felt excruciating pain in her knee and heard a loud “pop” that was described as the sound of 50 rubber bands snapping at the same time.

Cat had suffered many injuries in the past that looked and sounded terrible, so her initial taught was that some rest and ice for a couple weeks and she would be fine.

After a few days with not much improvement we notified her manager, Ed Soares who then called UFC president Dana White to let him know she had gotten hurt but did not know the extent of the injury.

The following day show was flown to Las Vegas to have an MRI done and to meet with Dana White and figure out what needed to be done.

The bad news came in, torn ACL, torn meniscus, 4 bone bruises and a MCL sprain… not good. The doctor said she needed surgery rather sooner then later, with those news Dana had no choice other then pull her out of the show and the title fight.

The UFC was on the ball and schedule her surgery for the following week with the best knee surgeon in the country, Dr. Kvitne, the same surgeon that operated on UFC champion George St. Pierre and many other fighters such as Lyoto Machida. Cat came home from Vegas, we packed our bags and headed to Los Angeles a few days later to get her ACL reconstructed.

The surgery went very well and took about 1:40. They used a cadavers Achilles tendon to replace her ACL ligament and they trimmed off the pieces of the meniscus that were damaged.

Dr. Kvitne said the surgery went better then expected and was very pleased with the result.

Two days after the surgery Cat went in to get her knee checked out and to have some fluid drained out of her knee. The first draining session they pulled out 90cc’s of blood from her knee which released much of the pressure and pain on her knee.

On the 4th day she went in again to have another 60cc’s of fluid drained from her knee.

Her daily routine was basically a 2 hour session on the “motion machine” followed by a 30 minute session on the “game ready ice machine”, that was done repeatedly thru-out the day for a total of about 12 hours on the motion machine and 3 hours of icing.

After one week she began her physical therapy sessions to re gain her strength and mobility. Since returning home to Denver she is currently on a daily physical therapy treatment at the Steadman-Hawkins clinic in Denver CO.

Her prognosis is to be able to start doing some training in 4 to 6 months and be able to fight in 7 to 9 months.

The UFC gave her a guarantee title shot after she recovers since she had earned that spot when she defeated Meisha Tate for the number 1 contender spot.

Well, here are some videos and pictures to give you all a better idea of what has been going on with Cat.

Rpyce Gracie and the Zingano’s at Metamoris

Ran in to Ronda’s manager at Metamoris 2 weeks after the surgery.

The post Cat Zingano Grulling Road to Recovery from ACL reconstruction. appeared first on UFC & MMA Classes in North Denver Region..

BJJ Belt Promotion Day

Here are some basic common etiquette rules that can help you thru your martial arts journey.

No shoes on the mats.

Well, pretty obvious rule, hygiene is of the most importance in BJJ and MMA gyms, so you would not want to put your dirty shoes on a place where people will be putting their faces in.

Addressing your instructors properly.

Different schools have different rules; some use “sensei”, “master”, professor”, “coach” etc… Find out what are the proper terms used in your gym and address your instructors according to demonstrate respect to your teacher and academy.

At our gym we refer to Black Belt instructors as “Professor”. Head instructor of the gym as “Master Zingano” and instructors that are blue, purple or brown belts as “coaches”. Our Muay Thai head instructor is refereed to as “Kru Mark”.

No talking during class instruction.

It is consider very rude and inappropriate to speak while your teacher is explaining a move or speaking to the class. Also, during practice try to keep the distractions and noise level to a minimum.

Temper tantrums during class.

Yes, you heard it right. Even tho frustration can get the best of any of us during training keep in mind that you are among friends and everyone is there to learn, including you! Outburst’s of anger or frustration on the mat are not acceptable behavior .

For parents watching their child in class.

Refrain from “coaching” your child from the bleachers. Let the instructor do their jobs. It takes away from the instructors ability to teach to have a parent, who is not an instructor, trying to coach his or her child during class. Be a parent, be your child fan and supporter and be encouraging, but please refrain from “teaching”. A great analogy we always tell parents is this; you don’t tell a pastry chef to add or take away ingredients from his cake recipe while he tries to bake it, after all there is a reason why your are paying for the cake and not making it yourself.

Bow before entering or exiting the mat area and bow to your instructors.

Bowing is the most traditional way to show your respect to your teachers, training partners and to the “arena” where you will engage in “combat”. Bowing also demonstrates humility  and lack of arrogance.

Watch your language.

Pretty self explanatory. Mind your manners, no cursing or foul language on the mat.

Hygiene.

This is to me one of the most important aspects of gym etiquette.

Always have a clean uniform! Your kimono and all other training gear must be washed after every use. Nobody enjoys training with someone who has a dirty and/or smelly uniform. Clean equipment helps prevent the spread of skin fungus and other bacterias such as “ring worm”.

Trim your finger and toe nails to help prevent scratching your training partners. Going home looking like your just wrestle a a honey badger is not fun for anyone.

Brush your teeth or use mouth wash prior to training. In a lot of positions in BJJ and MMA you are in close contact with your training partners, be considerate and avoid having bad breath.

Deodorant is your friend! Pretty self explanatory.

Shower immediately after training. Either at the gym or when you first get home make sure to shower. It will help you avoid unpleasant things such as ring worm, staff infections and other unpleasant things that sometimes happen in contact sports.

I’m proud to say that our gyms are extremely clean and sanitary and we do everything possible to keep it that way. From mopping the mats with disinfectant twice a day to keeping every inch of the gym sparkling clean, but ultimately is every student responsibility to him or herself and to others to take their personal hygiene extremely serious.

Being sick on the mat.

Please refrain from attending class while you are sick. If you have a cold, the flu or any other transmissible viruses please DO NOT come to gym. Take a few days off, rest, get better and come back when you are no longer contagious. It’s a never ending circle to keep passing it around.

Thank you

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Come join us and support your fellow training partners who are embarking in the new phase of their BJJ journey. After the promotions stick around to watch some cool Thai Boxing fights!

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We will be closed today, May 25th thru Monday May 27th in observance of Memorial Day.

Thank you and enjoy your weekend.

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Brayden & Sean

Lucas & Blake

Tarissa & Kim

Britt & Adam

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Great job guys!!!

Daymar wins via RNC in the first round.

Chance 10 second KO victory

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Yes, it did happen.
And yes, it has been talked about it in the past, look on the “underground”, that was even a post or reply by Ray Elbe saying something about last month.

Cat Zingano didn’t seek out Bloody Elbow to tell a story and has nothing to gain for “making it up”, that’s pretty ignorant to even think or say that.

I was talking to them (bloody elbow) about her signing with Black House and the conversation came up. They asked to speak to Josh Ford who was with her and saw the whole thing; he told them the same thing.

Bryan is a douch bag, period. Cat has absolutely no reason to make some dumb story up, she already put Meisha away. so Bryan Tate trying to say “why only now she is saying something” is simply silly.

Like I said, It was talked about it in the past it just kind went unnoticed and now it caught peoples attention.

Because she opted to not make a stink about it it doesn’t make it false. Bloody Elbow asked ME to tell them what had happened, they confirmed it with Josh and Leister and I asked her to give them a quote about what had happened, of course she did since it was in fact, what had happened.

I said something because I think the guy is a total dirt bag and I’m way more confrontational.

I’m here waiting, would love to see him come elbow me in the head.

Anyhow, another issue with all of this is that because someone dosen’t say something right then and there it does not mean its a lie. If your child gets bullied in school and waits a month to say something for whatever reason, does it become a lie?

At the UFC we asked Cat if she wanted to complain to the UFC about it, she said “no, I’ll take it out on his girlfriend tomorrow”, which she did…..

Cat didn’t “throw the first elbow”, but she sure as hell threw the last!

- Mauricio Hostile Zingano

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Take care
- Master Z

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- Master Zingano

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