Author: David Daniels

Tate vs Rousey: Strikeforce Ladies Need a Lesson in Trash Talking

Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey are unfamiliar with Muhammad Ali.They have to be because their war of words has been laughable going into the Strikeforce main event on March 3.  If Tate and Rousey want to put women’s MMA fighting on the map, th…

Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey are unfamiliar with Muhammad Ali.

They have to be because their war of words has been laughable going into the Strikeforce main event on March 3.  If Tate and Rousey want to put women’s MMA fighting on the map, they’re going to have to pick up their trash-talk game.

Check out this video of their intense weigh-in.

What an exchange.

Each fighter bolted to Twitter after the weigh-in to sound off about the forehead-kiss.  Rousey tweeted:

 

 

Tate responded:

 

 

Yeah, this is the “selling of the fight” that the promoter attempted to hype up during the weigh-in.  Sure, the effort from both sides is there to turn this matchup into a must-see rivalry, but the pair needs to do some serious film study on Ali.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News’  Brian Martin, Tate definitely isn’t buying Rousey as a -310 favorite (according to Bodog) saying:

“People hear about the Olympics and all the armbar submissions and they put her on a pedestal.  A lot of people buy into the hype.  I want to prove what Ronda’s really made of.  In my opinion, she hasn’t fought any fights yet.  She’s never done any striking.  She seems desperate to finish early and doesn’t want to be out there.  She just wants to get out of there.”

Rousey laughed off any concern over her quick finishes as she has reportedly said:

“I find that hilarious. Of course, I’m going to capitalize on the first opportunity I see.  In judo, I was always working at a size and strength disadvantage.  I was a speed and endurance fighter.  I’m more conditioned than I’ve ever been in my life, so that’s pretty poor planning for them.”

This last Tate tweet, though, is the most telling example of why the two need help:

 

 

 

She just called herself a man.

No one that doesn’t live under a rock would tune into Saturday night’s fight enamored with the storyline.  If Tate vs. Rousey lives up to expectations and they meet again, Round 2 would be highly anticipated.  But only if they somewhat learn how to float like a butterfly and trash talk like Ali.

 

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.


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UFC 141 Odds: Brock Lesnar Will Upset Alistair Overeem

Brock Lesnar will steal your money if you bet against him. The former UFC heavyweight champion may be an underdog to Alistair Overseem, but that won’t keep him from being the last one standing on Friday night.  According to Bovado, Overeem i…

Brock Lesnar will steal your money if you bet against him.

The former UFC heavyweight champion may be an underdog to Alistair Overseem, but that won’t keep him from being the last one standing on Friday night.  According to Bovado, Overeem is a -130 favorite over Lesnar, but avoiding a wrestling match against the former NCAA Champion would be a wise decision as Odds Shark’s Jack Randall writes…

“The chances that Lesnar is able to get this fight to the ground are very real, and if he does he will pay off at MMA odds of +125 for the upset.  If he has improved his standup over the last year it could end up being a good battle between two elite athletes.  Lesnar has been out of action for over a year and could show up rusty.”

While Lesnar’s wrestling ability should be feared, at the same time he shouldn’t be doubted because of rust.  He told MMA Weekly all the way back in August how primed he was to get back in the octagon after his successful surgery saying…

“I feel like a new man, healthy, strong, I feel like I used to feel.  My health is 100 percent, I feel great, my motivation is there and I want to get on the map again.  I want to become the UFC heavyweight champion again, and I believe I will do that.”

That doesn’t sound like a fighter that needs a warm-up bout to regain his dominance.  And again, he said that over four months ago.

Now, Overeem is extremely accomplished as a former Strikeforce Heavyweight, Dream Heavyweight and K-1 Kickboxing World Champion.  While Lesnar realistically has no shot to upset Overeem standing up, all it would take is for the wrestler to get him on the ground.

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.


Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com