Miesha Tate admits it’s a breath of fresh air not having tension-filled moments in the lead-up to a title fight because she doesn’t have to deal with all the “drama” that comes with a bout against her long-time rival, Ronda Rousey.
On the contrary, the fact that her and Holly Holm — the new Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s Bantamweight champion — have a friendly relationship, makes the promotional duties for their title fight at UFC 197 on March 5, 2016, that much easier.
But, as she declared on “The MMA Hour,” just because she and Holm are on good terms, doesn’t mean she will pull punches or hold anything back when they finally face off for the strap.
“It’s refreshing and I think it is going to be interesting for the fans to see how much we like each other and still beat the shit out of each other when the cage door closes. There is definitely going to be no holding back, there is not going to be any pulling of punches. We are going to let the leather fly regardless and that’s going to be exciting. So, for the people thinking that, ‘Oh, they like each other and it’s going to be a nice fight and boring.’ Think again. I am coming for that belt, and I don’t care how much I like someone. It is not going to affect the way I take the belt.”
Holm and Tate developed a friendship after the two talented ladies spent time filming “Fight Valley.”
To hear “Cupcake” tell it, she strongly believes she’s a stylistically tougher match up for Holly than Ronda, which makes her respect Holm that much more, seeing as how she is willing to take on the fresher, tougher challenge as opposed to one she just destroyed.
But, will Tate be able to prove her theory come fight night?