UFC women’s bantamweight Cat Zingano punched her ticket for a title shot after notching a brutal TKO over Amanda Nunes at UFC 178 on Saturday.

After 17 months of turmoil, which included a torn ACL and the loss of her husband, Zingano still looked like a top talent at 135 pounds against “The Lioness.”

Entering the matchup at the No. 8 women’s bantamweight in the world, Nunes took Zingano by surprised by getting her down to the mat early with an inside trip.

From there, the Brazilian unloaded with vicious ground-and-pound, before making a questionable decision by diving on a kneebar.

Zingano escaped the submission attempt and managed to get on top before the opening frame concluded.

From there, the top contender took over the fight, landing combinations at will and being flawless on the mat.

Once she attained mount early in the third round, Zingano dropped big punches and elbows that gave the ref no choice but to wave the fight off.

With the victory, the 32-year-old improved to 9-0 and UFC President Dana White stated at the post-fight press conference that was good enough for the next crack at champion Ronda Rousey.

“She’s been away for awhile; she had some injuries; she’s dealing with some personal problems. She is back,” White told reporters.

“I think the fans can see her, and she needed to remind everybody why she was in line for a title fight. She did it tonight.”

Rousey has previously expressed an interest in fighter at UFC 182 on January 3, which is headlined by Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier, and Zingano hasn’t objected to a quick turnaround.

However, no date or venue for the women’s championship bout is official yet.