Go here for video highlights of the Strikeforce main event featuring Meisha Tate and Ronda Rousey.
The proceedings came to an excruciating halt at 4:27 of the opening stanza, courtesy of Rousey’s trademark armbar submission which hurt the arm of “Takedown” Tate, thus handing the 25-year-old “Rowdy” the women’s bantamweight title.
Rousey headed into the bout riding a four-fight win streak and with as many armbar submissions to boot. Furthermore, she had taken all of 2 minutes and 18 seconds to accomplish the aforementioned victories.
However, in this match-up, things were slightly different, as she was locking horns with an experienced MMA practitioner in Tate (12-3 MMA, 5-2 SF) who also possessed good grappling skills, as well as being the reigning 135-pound champion.
The fight itself was explosive from start to finish, with both women gaining the upper hand on several occasions; however, it was Rousey’s overwhelming desire to win, coupled with her judo skill set, that were the overriding factors in this now-legendary throwdown.
The armbar submission was her fifth in her five professional career outings, and with the win over the No. 3 ranked female fighter in the world, Rousey (5-0 MMA, 3-0 SF) must now be mentioned in the same breath as the crème de la crème of female mixed martial artists the world over.
Rousey’s next fight could be a title defense against Sarah Kaufman, who won a majority decision against Alexis Davis in the preliminary-card event.
For now, the brash Californian will bask in the glory of capturing Strikeforce gold.
Video courtesy of MMAFighting.com.
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