Miesha Tate needs to leave Ronda Rousey alone.
The former-Strikeforce bantamweight champion Tate recently took to Twitter to express her displeasure over Rousey receiving the credit for the UFC’s recent addition of some female talent to its already-deep roster.
In a segment with MMAweekly.com, Tate said:
It’s not just Ronda, it’s not just myself, that’s for sure. If Ronda’s coming over to the UFC obviously there’s going to be a division around that, it’s not just Ronda. I know Ronda’s getting a lot of the credit and what not, but she didn’t have a lot to do with from the ground up.
Guess what, Miesha? It kind of is all Ronda’s doing. I know you hate to hear that, but she is the reason you can now fight inside the legendary Octagon.
Dana White clearly took a liking to Rousey after her big win over Tate at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey, and his obsession with the female ground technician became immediately apparent.
White was showing up here and there with Rousey, and it became clear White was either working his love magic on the bantamweight star or trying to get her inside the Octagon as soon as possible.
The latter turned out to be true, as was announced recently.
Now, this isn’t about Ronda Rousey giving birth to women’s MMA. If that was the case, Tate would be absolutely correct in her sentiments.
What this is about, though, is the formation of a women’s division inside the world’s premiere mixed martial arts promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. That one was all Ronda.
As recently as August 2012, White was clueless about women’s MMA in general. Later that month, however, Rousey emerged victorious in her title defense against Sarah Kaufman, and White was sold.
White knew she could be a star, he knew should would put fans in seats, and he knew he had to have her on his roster.
After courting her for a few months, he got his wish. Ronda Rousey became the first woman on the UFC’s roster, and Miesha Tate followed shortly after.
Maybe the reality of the situation hurts Tate’s ego, or maybe she just wants the credit to go beyond her arch nemesis—this I do not know.
What I do know, however, is that Dana White was not interested in a women’s MMA division until he saw Ronda Rousey, her knack for first round finishes and her polarizing personality. He was sold, and Rousey’s commission check will be in her mailbox shortly, signed by White himself.
Ronda Rousey does not deserve sole credit for the rise in popularity for women’s MMA as a whole, but she does deserve the credit for getting women into the UFC; White’s actions make that perfectly clear.
It’s a tough pill to swallow for Tate, but it is a fact she must face.
Something tells me she’ll get the opportunity in due time (thanks to Ronda, of course)…
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