Undefeated female fighter Ronda ‘Rowdy’ Rousey (4-0) has been talking for weeks about getting a title shot against Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champ Miesha ‘Takedown’ Tate (12-2), she has now been given that chance and will meet the champ this coming March.
News of the matchup was confirmed by MMAWeekly.com as well as by MMA Heat via their Facebook page, late Wednesday night.
The two are expected to meet on March 3 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The women’s bout should be featured as the co-main event, with the headline bout going to the conclusion of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix with Josh Barnett taking on Daniel Cormier in the final.
This will be Tate’s first title defense after winning the belt last summer by defeating Marloes Coenen in July by fourth round submission at the July event. The victory was ‘Takedown’s’ sixth straight win which includes four straight in the Strikeforce cage.
Rousey has won all four of her pro-fights by first round round armbar submission, closing out each fight in under a minute. This will though, be Rousey’s first fight at 135-lbs as she has primarily competed at featherweaight. ‘Rowdy’ has two wins under the Strikeforce banner, with all four of her victories coming in 2011.
The hype that gets built up for this fight could really launch women’s mma, as well as creating a renewed interest in Strikeforce, especially after the disappearance of Gina Carano from the fight scene.