Miesha Tate is on track for a third crack at Ronda Rousey. But she’ll have a pretty big test in front of her first.
Tate will meet Jessica Eye in a No. 1 contender matchup for the UFC women’s bantamweight title sometime in June, UFC president Dana White confirmed Friday at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro. Rousey was the one to originally break the news of the fight at the presser. The Tate-Eye winner will get the winner of the title fight between Rousey and Bethe Correia at UFC 190 in Rio.
Tate (16-5) is Rousey’s most hated rival. The two have already met twice with Rousey winning both times — the first to win the Strikeforce title and the second in December 2013 to retain the UFC belt. Tate, 28, has won three straight since that defeat, the most recent a unanimous decision over Sara McMann at UFC 183 on Jan. 31 in Las Vegas. Tate has lasted the longest with Rousey, going into the third round with her at UFC 169. Every other opponent has been finished in the first.
Eye (11-2, 1 NC) is coming off a dominant TKO win over Leslie Smith at UFC 180 in Mexico City. Eye, 28, popped Smith’s left ear with a punch in that bout and the fight had to be stopped in the second round. The Cleveland native only has one UFC victory, but her win over Sarah Kaufman in 2013 was overturned due to a positive marijuana test and her lone loss was a very close decision against former No. 1 contender Alexis Davis.
White was vague about when the fight would take place, saying only it would be “sometime in June.” The UFC has four events planned for the month: UFC Fight Night: Cormier vs. Bader on June 6 in New Orleans, UFC 188: Velasquez vs. Werdum on June 13 in Mexico City, UFC Fight Night 69 on June 20 in Germany and The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4 Finale on June 27 in a Brazilian city to be named.
The UFC announced that the undefeated Rousey will meet Correia at UFC 190 on Aug. 1 in Rio de Janeiro. Rousey is coming off a 14-second submission win over Cat Zingano at UFC 184 on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles. Correia stoked the fire by beating two of Rousey’s friends, Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler, by knockout last year and taunting Rousey after each victory.
The announcement that the Tate-Eye winner would get the title shot after Correia means fans will have to wait even longer for a bout between Rousey and Cris “Cyborg” Justino — if Justino ever makes 135 pounds and the anticipated bout does happen.