After one of the most heated feuds in women’s mixed martial arts history, Miesha Tate (12-3) and Ronda Rousey (5-0) finally entered the cage to determine who held rights to the Strikeforce bantamweight championship.
When action began, it was Tate who came out of the gate swinging for the fences, but Rousey would survive the early series of strikes.
In fact, Rousey would move on to dominate the remaining portion of the opening frame as she used her expertise in judo to place Tate on her back and finish her—you guessed it—via armbar.
Rousey now holds a perfect record of five wins with no losses as every single one of her victories have come within Round 1 and all have been by the dangerous armbar.
However, Rousey’s best competition may be yet to come.
Sarah Kaufman (15-1) also took part in Saturday’s Strikeforce showdown as she prevailed with her 15th victory in just 16 outings.
Kaufman appears to be next for Rousey as she’s the clear-cut No. 2 bantamweight in the world following Tate’s fall from glory. And to Rousey’s disadvantage, Kaufman has also defeated Tate in a bout that may considered to not even be close.
However, to Rousey’s advantage, Kaufman’s only loss has come by—you guessed it again—the armbar.
Fans should be surprised to see anyone but Kaufman challenging Rousey for her new 135-pound title next.
For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com