Miesha Tate Won’t Wait Around For Ronda Rousey To Return

Miesha Tate knows that as the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion, a third match-up with her longtime rival and former champion Ronda Rousey is most likely an inevitability. However, after submitting Holly Holm in the co-main event of March 5’s UFC 196, Tate is looking to stay active, and she’s not exactly sure Rousey has

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Miesha Tate knows that as the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion, a third match-up with her longtime rival and former champion Ronda Rousey is most likely an inevitability.

However, after submitting Holly Holm in the co-main event of March 5’s UFC 196, Tate is looking to stay active, and she’s not exactly sure Rousey has the same plan based on her devastating knockout loss to Holm last November.

Speaking during a media scrum in Brisbane, Australia, for this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 85, Tate revealed that she would rather fight at least one more time before Rousey conceivably returns in October or November, and it may even be as soon as July’s blockbuster UFC 200 (quotes via FOX Sports):

“That is a long time to wait. I have had eight months off before. Ideally I want to fight before then. I have been tossing around the idea if possible of fighting at UFC 200. I don’t know what the UFC has in mind for that. It may not be realistic.”

As for just whom ‘Cupcake’ might face next, she said she’s already been targeted by the entire top half of the division, and that understandably includes a request for a rematch from Holm. But with top-ranked contenders like Amanda Nunes and a returning Cat Zingano, who toppled Tate via TKO in their first respective UFC bout in April 2013, the next women’s 135-pound title fight is still very much unknown.

No matter whom it is, however, Tate said she is ready and will stay ready:

“I have been called out by everyone who is in the top six. The champion should take on whoever they say is next and whoever has earned that position. I don’t really care. They are all gunning for me and are all dangerous. My job as a champion is to stay active. I don’t want to be the one to say who fights who. I don’t want to be fixated on one person.”

Tate seems to be carrying the mindset of a true champion; one that knows her division is suddenly wide-open after being dominated for so long by a former champion who may or may not be motivated to even participate in one more UFC fight.

And even though she may not be considered the true champ by some until she finally defeats Rousey, the fact is right now it’s Tate who is motivated to take on any and all top-ranked female bantamweights in the world.

You can watch her full interview courtesy of Submission Radio right here:

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Miesha Tate Claims She Doesn’t Owe Holly Holm A Rematch For UFC Title

https://youtu.be/OpuByQAy36k

While speaking with reporters in Australia ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 85 event in Brisbane, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate shared her belief that she doesn’t owe former champion Holly Holm a remat…

miesha-tate-scrum

https://youtu.be/OpuByQAy36k

While speaking with reporters in Australia ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 85 event in Brisbane, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate shared her belief that she doesn’t owe former champion Holly Holm a rematch.

Tate spoke with the media prior to the event, which features Frank Mir vs. Mark Hunt in the main event, and revealed that she would like to compete on the landmark UFC 200 event scheduled for July 9th.

“I’ve been kind of tossing around the idea if it would be possible to fight at UFC 200. That would be awesome, but I really have no idea what the UFC has in mind for that. I think they already have a couple of title fights, so it may not be realistic. But I’ll stay ready for that, if that’s something that becomes an option or available, then great. If not then we’ll see what comes next.”

Tate, who claimed that she doesn’t necessarily owe Holly Holm a rematch for the title she just lost at UFC 196 earlier this month, spoke about the fact that as the new champion, she has everyone in the division gunning for her.

“I know that there’s a lot of really top contenders, a lot of girls in the division, that are really chomping at the bit. I think I’ve been called out by probably everybody in the top-6, if not potentially the top-10. So, they’re all gunning for me, and they’re all dangerous, and they all have their different attributes to bring to the table, so I think my job as the champ is just to stay ready for whoever. I’m just going to stay in the gym, and I have to be able to beat every single one of them.”

H/T to MMAJunkie.com for transcribing.

Video: Miesha Tate Says Holly Holm “Crumbled Under The Pressure” At UFC 196

https://youtu.be/LVevBkldeO4

While Holly Holm may have been ahead on the cards going into the end of her fight with Miesha Tate at UFC 196, but according to Tate, after round two, the stage was set for her to pull off the upset later in the fight.

miesha-tate-interview

https://youtu.be/LVevBkldeO4

While Holly Holm may have been ahead on the cards going into the end of her fight with Miesha Tate at UFC 196, but according to Tate, after round two, the stage was set for her to pull off the upset later in the fight.

Tate spoke about the fight during her appearance on The Fight Network this week.

“I think she just crumbled under the pressure when I took her down in that second round,” Tate told Fight Network’s John Pollock. “My coaches and Bryan [Caraway] actually told me, ‘She’s either going to stay down and be so scared about being submitted that you’re going to ground and pound her and beat her up or she’s going to try desperately to get up. Because your top pressure is so heavy she’s going to be forced to leave something out there and you’re going to grab it and you’re going to submit this girl.’

“We saw both cases. In the second round she stayed down there and took some heavy ground and pound. In the fifth round she definitely didn’t want to get stuck down there again so she tried to zealously get up and I saw the opening and I took it. We planned for that and we assumed that was going to happen.”

While the UFC brass has been critical of Holm’s decision to take a fight with Tate instead of waiting for the guaranteed immediate rematch money-fight with Ronda Rousey, Tate said that she admires Holm for making the decision.

“I think Holly took the advice of her coaches who she trusts with everything,” said Tate. “They said, ‘Holly, you’ve always been an active fighter. Let’s not change who you are now that you’re the champion because that’s when you’re going to lose sight of who you are.’ I think the idea was to keep her grounded just the same as if she wasn’t the champion. Fighting often, through the top 10 and I admire that. I respect that. I think that’s what any champion should do. She didn’t want to wait. She wanted to get in there and prove why she was the best in the world.

“It didn’t work out for her this time but that’s the mindset that makes a champion. You’re not going to win every fight in this sport but she has the mentality of a champion and that’s why she beat Ronda. If she would have said, ‘I’m not ready to fight Ronda’ she would have missed that opportunity. She’s just the kind of woman who wants to stay ready, be ready and she’s passionate about this. I have a lot of respect for her and I don’t think it was a mistake. I think she’s going to learn from it and she’ll come back better.”

Will Ronda Rousey Truly Ever Be The Same?

Four months have passed since former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was shockingly dethroned by Holly Holm at UFC 193, but the mixed martial arts (MMA) world still waits on pins and needles for the announcement of ‘Rowdy’s’ return. Still the queen of MMA and most recognized athlete in the UFC, the popular fighter/movie

The post Will Ronda Rousey Truly Ever Be The Same? appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Four months have passed since former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was shockingly dethroned by Holly Holm at UFC 193, but the mixed martial arts (MMA) world still waits on pins and needles for the announcement of ‘Rowdy’s’ return.

Still the queen of MMA and most recognized athlete in the UFC, the popular fighter/movie star teased this week that she could now bite an apple online, one of her gauges to test her readiness to potentially return to the cage, and indeed, there are some signs that may point to her coming back relatively soon.

However, there are possibly even more signs that suggest she may not, and the serious nature of those could also point to her being a shell of her former self even if she does decide to come back.

Overall, it’s a polarizing debate that undoubtedly has the entire sport of MMA wondering just what will happen next. Let’s take a look at some of the factors why – or why not – Rousey will be her dominant self once again.

The post Will Ronda Rousey Truly Ever Be The Same? appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Will Ronda Rousey Truly Ever Be The Same?

Four months have passed since former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was shockingly dethroned by Holly Holm at UFC 193, but the mixed martial arts (MMA) world still waits on pins and needles for the announcement of ‘Rowdy’s’ return. Still the queen of MMA and most recognized athlete in the UFC, the popular fighter/movie

The post Will Ronda Rousey Truly Ever Be The Same? appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Four months have passed since former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was shockingly dethroned by Holly Holm at UFC 193, but the mixed martial arts (MMA) world still waits on pins and needles for the announcement of ‘Rowdy’s’ return.

Still the queen of MMA and most recognized athlete in the UFC, the popular fighter/movie star teased this week that she could now bite an apple online, one of her gauges to test her readiness to potentially return to the cage, and indeed, there are some signs that may point to her coming back relatively soon.

However, there are possibly even more signs that suggest she may not, and the serious nature of those could also point to her being a shell of her former self even if she does decide to come back.

Overall, it’s a polarizing debate that undoubtedly has the entire sport of MMA wondering just what will happen next. Let’s take a look at some of the factors why – or why not – Rousey will be her dominant self once again.

The post Will Ronda Rousey Truly Ever Be The Same? appeared first on LowKick MMA.

The Cyborg Talk Is Ramping Up For UFC 198

Reigning Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino may finally be making her UFC debut in the near future. While it most certainly won’t be the long sought-after super fight against former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC is considering booking Justino at May’s UFC 198 in her

The post The Cyborg Talk Is Ramping Up For UFC 198 appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Reigning Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino may finally be making her UFC debut in the near future.

While it most certainly won’t be the long sought-after super fight against former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC is considering booking Justino at May’s UFC 198 in her home of Brazil.

The fearsome slugger recently expressed her desire in fighting at this event:

“It has been almost 10 years since I last fought in my home country of Brazil,” Justino recently wrote on her website. “I am very lucky that over the last decade my Brazilian fans have continued to support me and my career as I chased my dreams as a world champion, while living and competing in America.”

“This May the UFC will be promoting an event in my hometown of Curitiba, Brazil, a city very rich in fight history. It would be an honor to return back to the city I was born in, and to step inside of the Octagon with an opportunity to prove myself as one of the best female fighters in the sport.”

It would be interesting to see what the UFC could come up with given the fact that the promotion doesn’t currently have a women’s 145-pound division.

Aside from Rousey, however, reigning 135-pound queen Miesha Tate, as well as former champion Holly Holm have both previously voiced their interest in a bout with “Cyborg”. Tate recently defeated Holm via submission at March 5’s UFC 196, and “The Preacher’s Daughter” has already stated she wants to get back into the Octagon as soon as possible.

Although it’s very short notice, a catchweight bout at 140 versus “Cyborg” would be a massive draw for the already packed card, which features heavyweight legend Fabricio Werdum defending his belt against Stipe Miocic.

Justino, who has attempted to cut down to bantamweight in the past, is well aware that the UFC doesn’t host her division at the moment:

“I know that the UFC does not have my division,” Justino recently wrote, “which is why I am asking my fans to help make this fight.”

A knockout machine, “Cyborg” has long been a household name amongst female fighters, and her jump to the UFC has always seemed inevitable given her drawing power.

Could that move be coming as soon as May?

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