Ronda Rousey might punch faces and hyperextend arms for a living, but she knows a little bit about farming, too.
The UFC women’s bantamweight champion used an agriculture analogy on the UFC 190 media call Monday to explain why she’s fine with the potential of facing Miesha Tate for a third time.
“I need these other girls,” Rousey said. “It’s not like I can do this by myself. I need a dancing partner. The analogy that I use a lot is that these girls are like plants. Sometimes you can grow a crop and you can harvest it year after year like Miesha. Sometimes you harvest it once, it’ll never grow back.”
Tate beat Jessica Eye by unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 16 on Saturday in Chicago to earn another shot at the title. Rousey has already beaten her twice, once to become the Strikeforce champion when Tate held the belt and again at UFC 168 in December 2013 to defend her title. Tate holds the distinction of being the only woman to survive past the first round with Rousey in that second fight.
In order for the trilogy to happen, Rousey would have to beat Bethe Correia in the main event of UFC 190 on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro. Considering that Rousey is a 15-to-1 favorite, that seems to be a foregone conclusion to many.
Rousey (11-0) said she would have no problem with fighting Tate a third time — if that’s what fans wanted to see.
“There’s fan interest, so then there’s my interest,” Rousey said. “I’m interested in just defending my title as many times as I need to before I feel like I’m done. If she’s the best competitor and she’s who the fans want to see, then I’m extremely interested in doing it.”
Rousey joked during the call that she would beat up Correia, take a few weeks off, come back and beat up Tate and then film her next movie, Mile 22, in which she’ll be starring alongside Mark Wahlberg.
Since the last Tate fight, Rousey has become a significant pay-per-view draw for the UFC and Tate has also increased in popularity. There’s a large segment of the casual fan population who might have never watched the first two fights. And if the promotion is done right — and with Rousey it usually is — Rousey vs. Tate III is a bankable PPV main event. Or a big co-main event on a huge card.
“I’m an entertainer,” Rousey said. “I’m not just here for myself. If that’s what people want to see and she’s the No. 1 contender, then yeah. I’m totally down. She’s the one that has piqued my interest after I’m done beating Bethe.”
Rousey, 28, gave Tate props for beating Eye and said she somewhat expected that “Cupcake” has worked her way back. Though the two have had bad blood for years now, Rousey has always been complimentary of Tate as a fighter.
“I’m not surprised,” Rousey said. “She’s a great competitor and a great athlete. I’ve always said amazing things about her as a fighter.”
That’s another reason why Rousey doesn’t mind a third go-around with Tate. She might be the second best “plant” in Rousey’s UFC women’s bantamweight division, after all.
“I don’t think Bethe will ever come back after this,” Rousey said. “But I think this might be the final season I can harvest the Tate crop.”