Tag: miesha tate

The Unsupportable Opinion: UFC 168 Is Kind of a Garbage-Ass Card


(Yeah, and…?)

As some promoters would have you believe, UFC 168: Silva vs. Weidman 2 is the biggest event in UFC history. It’s so stacked, in fact, that some unnamed executives at Zuffa decided to raise the price of the card $5, in a one-time-only mini-gouge. (Dana White’s explanation for this? “Cuz.” Ladies and gentlemen, your UFC president.)

The price bump carries the implication that UFC 168 is not just a great pay-per-view event, it’s more valuable than every single UFC show that came before it. But is it? Let’s take a quick look at the pay-per-view lineup — i.e., the five fights they’re asking you to pay for:

Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva (for UFC middleweight title)
Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate (for women’s bantamweight title)
Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne (HW)
Jim Miller vs. Fabricio Camoes (LW)
Dustin Poirier vs. Diego Brandao (FW)

To me, we’re talking about three big fights. The shocking ending of Silva vs. Weidman 1 gives their rematch a great narrative (horrible marketing aside), and it’s safe to say that most UFC fans are curious to see how the sequel will turn out. Rousey vs. Tate is compelling simply because all Ronda Rousey appearances are compelling, but there’s nothing to suggest that her second meeting with Miesha won’t end in another first-round armbar. And Barnett vs. Browne? Yep, I’m on board for that.

Beyond that, we have two solid contender fights that you could find on any other UFC main card. This kind of arrangement would place UFC 168 in line with past mega-shows like UFC 92 and UFC 100, which also followed the “two huge fights, one really good fight, two pretty decent fights” format. The difference is, the UFC never tried to jack up the prices of those shows, and there’s a reason for that. In 2008-2009, a UFC card with two big-name title fights was a special occasion. These days, it’s a ultra-rare fluke — and this might be the last time you see it.


(Yeah, and…?)

As some promoters would have you believe, UFC 168: Silva vs. Weidman 2 is the biggest event in UFC history. It’s so stacked, in fact, that some unnamed executives at Zuffa decided to raise the price of the card $5, in a one-time-only mini-gouge. (Dana White’s explanation for this? “Cuz.” Ladies and gentlemen, your UFC president.)

The price bump carries the implication that UFC 168 is not just a great pay-per-view event, it’s more valuable than every single UFC show that came before it. But is it? Let’s take a quick look at the pay-per-view lineup — i.e., the five fights they’re asking you to pay for:

Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva (for UFC middleweight title)
Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate (for women’s bantamweight title)
Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne (HW)
Jim Miller vs. Fabricio Camoes (LW)
Dustin Poirier vs. Diego Brandao (FW)

To me, we’re talking about three big fights. The shocking ending of Silva vs. Weidman 1 gives their rematch a great narrative (horrible marketing aside), and it’s safe to say that most UFC fans are curious to see how the sequel will turn out. Rousey vs. Tate is compelling simply because all Ronda Rousey appearances are compelling, but there’s nothing to suggest that her second meeting with Miesha won’t end in another first-round armbar. And Barnett vs. Browne? Yep, I’m on board for that.

Beyond that, we have two solid contender fights that you could find on any other UFC main card. This kind of arrangement would place UFC 168 in line with past mega-shows like UFC 92 and UFC 100, which also followed the “two huge fights, one really good fight, two pretty decent fights” format. The difference is, the UFC never tried to jack up the prices of those shows, and there’s a reason for that. In 2008-2009, a UFC card with two big-name title fights was a special occasion. These days, it’s a ultra-rare fluke — and this might be the last time you see it.

My interpretation of UFC 168′s five-dollar price-bump is simple: The UFC has no idea when it will be able to put on another blockbuster event, and the promotion is trying to cash in while it can. Next year will be marked by the absences of former PPV king Georges St. Pierre as well as currently-injured champions Cain Velasquez and Anthony Pettis. But despite the reduced star power on its roster, the UFC will have even more main event spots to fill on its ever-growing broadcast schedule. The idea of stacking two title fights on one card is a luxury that Zuffa can no longer afford.

When the UFC announced Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler for UFC 171, Dana White originally stated that the welterweight title fight would be on the same card as Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira. But plans changed (again!), and the date and venue of Jones/Teixeira are TBA once more. Clearly, the UFC realized that putting on two PPV events that do 300k buys each is better than one that does 500k — especially as the promotion struggles to find strong headliners for its pay-per-view shows, which will be a bigger challenge than ever in 2014.

(Semi-related rant: On this week’s episode of the CME, Ben Fowlkes floated the idea of having the UFC’s vacant welterweight title be decided by a four-man single-night tournament. Would any UFC fan in the world argue with that idea? The UFC may have buried multi-fight tournaments in the interest of turning MMA into a modern sport, but if it wants to regain some of the fading interest among its fans, the promotion should start giving people more of what hooked them on MMA in the first place. Namely, crazy shit.)

So, is UFC 168 a great lineup? Sure it is. (I guess now I can break kayfabe and admit that I was half-trolling with this article’s headline.) Is UFC 168 the greatest lineup in UFC history? Of course it isn’t — and if you were a UFC fan five years ago, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. But hey, you might as well enjoy it while you still can.

– Ben Goldstein

Should Cat Zingano Still Be Guaranteed the Ronda Rousey-Miesha Tate Winner?

Cat Zingano was scheduled to be Ronda Rousey’s next title challenger. Zingano defeated Miesha Tate at the season 17 finale of The Ultimate Fighter by TKO to earn that right. However, a knee injury would sideline her and open the door for the Tate …

Cat Zingano was scheduled to be Ronda Rousey‘s next title challenger. Zingano defeated Miesha Tate at the season 17 finale of The Ultimate Fighter by TKO to earn that right. However, a knee injury would sideline her and open the door for the Tate rematch.

The question is, does Zingano still deserve the title shot?

The detractors will say “No”—and they may have a legitimate argument. She will have been out of action for at least a year by the time of her potential title shot, and coming off knee surgery to repair the damage. There is not only the chance of cage rust, but the chance that she may not be exactly the same fighter due to the injury.

I may have been on their side if things played out differently, but I still maintain that Zingano should be the next title challenger.

The bantamweight division is still a work in progress. The UFC is still adding bodies to the division. There simply are not many legitimate challengers. If there were, Miesha Tate would have never received the rematch with Rousey coming off a loss.

The way the division has played out in 2013 should keep Zingano in the cat bird’s seat—no pun intended.

Sara McMann was scheduled to take on Sarah Kaufman in August, but she backed out due to undisclosed reasons and we have not seen her since. Had she competed and won that fight, I would be pushing for a McMann vs. Rousey or Tate fight.

As it stands right now, the Olympian is inactive and out of the picture.

Kaufman was seeking a rematch with Rousey, but she was defeated in a close contest against Jessica Eye. That eliminates her from contention, and Eye still needs at least one more win before entering the title contention discussion.

What about Liz Carmouche? She was the first woman to ever have Rousey in a bit of trouble. She recently lost to Alexis Davis, though. That leaves Davis as the only other option to challenge the winner of the UFC 168 co-main event.

Davis is ranked No. 3 in the division. She has been a mainstay in the women’s rankings for a while, but could not break through. She faltered in March 2012 in an exciting bout with Kaufman in Strikeforce. However, since that fight, Davis is 4-0 and 2-0 in the UFC.

She defeated submission specialists Hitomi Akano and Shayna Baszler in Invicta FC by way of submission, establishing herself as one of the premier jiu-jitsu practitioners of the division. Yet, her UFC debut was a lackluster fight against Rosi Sexton.

That fight set her title aspirations back a little, but she rebounded with a convincing win over Liz Carmouche at UFC Fight for the Troops 3.

So, why not Davis?

The fact is, the fans don’t care about her—yet.

In order for Davis to jump ahead for a title shot, she needs more support from fans who consume the UFC product. That is not happening right now, and Davis herself has suggested fighting Zingano to determine a No. 1 contender, according to MMA Junkie.

She knows she’s not going to get the next shot.

This leaves only Zingano as the next challenger. She earned the title shot, and the rest of the division has done absolutely nothing to prove they should jump her while she rehabbed a significant knee injury.

The division is still shallow and contenders are light. It makes sense for the UFC to keep Zingano in the top position to challenge for the belt as the rest of the division works itself out.

Perhaps by the spring someone will emerge as the next contender after Zingano. As it stands today, there simply is not a legitimate challenger after Zingano.

The answer is a resounding yes—Zingano should still be guaranteed her title shot. More so because the other women of the division could not seize the day in her absence.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ronda Rousey on TUF 18: I Worried About Coaching, Miesha Worried About Her Hair

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey insists that she doesn’t care about how some fans perceived her after coaching on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter since she put the needs of her fighters first. 
The “Rowdy” one explained …

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey insists that she doesn’t care about how some fans perceived her after coaching on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter since she put the needs of her fighters first. 

The “Rowdy” one explained her position in a recent interview with Fighters Only, where she was critical of arch nemesis Miesha Tate, who coached opposite the champ on the reality series. 

Regardless of what everyone thinks of me and how I come off – everyone might think that I’m a crazy, psycho, competitive bitch – I promise you, you can go up and ask anyone who was on my team how I was as a coach, and they will 100% say I did the best I possibly could under the circumstances. All I thought about was them. I obsessed over them, and whereas Miesha was spending a lot more time worried that her hair looked good for every shot, I was freaking out making sure that everyone was okay.

Rousey was criticized for being overly competitive and showing a lack of sportsmanship on the show, particularly by eventual winner Julianna Pena.  

The 26-year-old California native meets Tate for a second time at UFC 168 later this month, serving as the pay-per-view event’s co-headlining bout. 

Tate, then the Strikeforce bantamweight champ, and Rousey first met inside the cage in March of last year, with Rousey winning with a gruesome version of her signature armbar at the tail end of the first round.

Rousey enters the title tilt with an unblemished 7-0 record, defeating all of her opponents thus far with a first round armbar.

Meanwhile, “Cupcake” is 1-1 since fighting Rousey the first time, submitting Julie Kedzie and getting TKO’ed by Cat Zingano in her UFC debut.

Will fans get a repeat result of the first bout, or will Tate implement a new game plan and pull off a stunning upset? 

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.

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Random Thoughts on the UFC’s Decision to Increase the UFC 168 PPV By Five Dollars

(Lofty claim that is later revoked + at least two f-bombs = another classic DW soundbite.)

If you follow any other MMA site(s) besides CagePotato — which, why? — then you might have heard that the UFC is planning on raising the pay-per-view price of UFC 168 from $44.95/$54.95 HD to $49.95/$59.95 HD. You also might have been directed to the above clip, taken from a media scrum prior to UFC 96, in which Dana White declares that he “will f*cking go on record right now and say I will not raise pay-per-view.”

Whether the five dollar increase will only apply to UFC 168 or to all future UFC PPVs is still up in the air, but the increase has raised a few questions amongst the staff here at CagePotato, so we figured we’d lay out our qualms with the price hike, then let you, our esteemed readers, weigh in. Join us after the jump to get in on the discussion.

Random Thought #1: Does This Mean That the Price of Subpar PPVs Will Go Down?


(Lofty claim that is later revoked + at least two f-bombs = another classic DW soundbite.)

If you follow any other MMA site(s) besides CagePotato — which, why? — then you might have heard that the UFC is planning on raising the pay-per-view price of UFC 168 from $44.95/$54.95 HD to $49.95/$59.95 HD. You also might have been directed to the above clip, taken from a media scrum prior to UFC 96, in which Dana White declares that he “will f*cking go on record right now and say I will not raise pay-per-view.”

Whether the five dollar increase will only apply to UFC 168 or to all future UFC PPVs is still up in the air, but the increase has raised a few questions amongst the staff here at CagePotato, so we figured we’d lay out our qualms with the price hike, then let you, our esteemed readers, weigh in. Join us after the jump to get in on the discussion.

Random Thought #1: Does This Mean That the Price of Subpar PPVs Will Go Down?

I’m being facetious of course, but if the increased PPV price turns out to be just a one time thing for UFC 168, it raises an interesting predicament regarding how the UFC gauges the quality of each card. By raising the price of UFC 168, Dana & Co. are essentially telling fans, “This is the most stacked, hyped-up card of the year and the price has been adjusted accordingly,” which is fine, I guess, but what does that say about the less-than-stacked PPV cards we are surely in for down the line, or the value of the fighters competing on them, for that matter?

Fortunately for us, the next couple UFC cards don’t really face this dilemma. UFC 169 will (hopefully) feature not only the long-delayed bantamweight title fight between Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao but a featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Ricardo “Remember Me?” Lamas. UFC 171 is ages away, but a light heavyweight title tilt between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira is a good start to a card that will surely feature several more big names before all is said and done. But neither of these cards are arguably as stacked as UFC 168, so should the PPV price reflect this? And while I’m asking questions based around the completely unattainable false reality I have just constructed, why won’t Halle Berry return my phone calls?

Random Thought #2: Why Now?

The obvious answer to this question being: UFC 168 is the first card since 2007 that will feature Anderson Silva fighting for a title, and that is something that every MMA should be willing to fork over a couple extra bucks for. The UFC wants this buyrate to be huge; that much we know. I’m talking Sonnen vs. Silva II huge. I’m talking that time Michael Bisping fought Fedor on Zeus’s shoulders and they both could punch but only one could kick huge. But charging fans more for a PPV in a time when fan interest appears to be waning seems about as foolproof as, well, a subscription-based digital network in a world where torrenting is a thing. I base these opinions, of course, on absolutely nothing.

Sure, UFC 167 broke the bank, but so does every Canadian-based card headlined by GSP. American stars like Jon Jones, on the other hand, have seen their buyrates decline lower than ever before in recent months. UFC 165′s numbers were “low.” UFC 166′s were “hugely disappointing.” Hiking the price is not the solution. Suppose I owned a hardware store; if I wasn’t selling any hammers at $5 a pop, I sure as hell wouldn’t raise them to $6 in the hope that people would start buying them.

At the end of the day, you’d have to be dumber than that analogy to pass up this card. But at the minimum, the timing of the price hike makes you wonder whether it will become a permanent addition or not in 2014.

Random Thought #3: This.

While it’s damn near impossible to deny the necessity of (and interest in) a Weidman/Silva rematch, one could argue that fans are not nearly as interested in a Ronda Rousey/Miesha Tate rematch as the UFC thinks we are. You can blame it on the new network all you want, but the TUF 18 ratings have been rather lackluster this past season. Rather lackluster, indeed. (*huffs glue from a dirty sock*)

Did Tate give Rousey her toughest test to date? Maybe (Ed note: She never came this close to finishing her, that’s for sure). Is there a legitimate rivalry between Rousey and Tate that is sure to stir up fan interest? Brother, you don’t even know…

…come to think of it, the fans who don’t tune into Rousey/Tate II in the hope of seeing Rousey knocked off her “real mean” pedestal will likely tune in for the chance to see a woman’s arm literally ripped from her body. Something about moths to flame. I recant my previous statement, but still stand firmly in the “rematches should not become the high standard of UFC matchmaking moving forward” camp.

But what do you think of the price hike, Nation? Will you happily fork over the extra cash, or just continue stealing PPVs from sketchy foreign sites as is tradition?

–J. Jones

Julianna Pena Open to Fighting Both Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate

Julianna Pena will fight whoever the UFC puts in front of her, including Ronda Rousey and teammate/coach Miesha Tate.
After winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 less than a week ago, Pena’s name appears to already be popping up in the long list…

Julianna Pena will fight whoever the UFC puts in front of her, including Ronda Rousey and teammate/coach Miesha Tate.

After winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 less than a week ago, Pena’s name appears to already be popping up in the long list of contenders for the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

During an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of UFC Tonight, the Venezuelan Vixen admitted that she was already hearing rumors of a future bout with Rousey.

“I heard that it could be a possibility. I’m just looking to get some more wins,” Pena said.

Pena breezed through the competition on TUF. She even managed to pull off a submission win over Team-Rousey favorite and longtime MMA veteran Shayna Baszler.

Outside of Pena’s rise to superstardom, perhaps the most interesting dynamic on the show was between coach and student.

Tate had trained with Pena prior to TUF, and a friendship developed between the two women. As a former world champion, Tate saw a lot of raw potential in Pena and decided to step into the mentor role for the 24-year-old fighter.

As usual in MMA, Tate’s kind gesture of inviting Pena into her gym could complicate things in the future.

What happens if the two are asked to fight each other?

With the show in the books, Pena now joins the growing roster of bantamweight women all vying for a shot at Rousey’s title, including Tate. The idea of friends fighting is a continued debate in the MMA community that typically yields split opinions.

Some fighters are able to put friendships aside and step into the cage to handle business. Others would sooner change weight classes or retire from fighting than be coerced into fighting a friend or teammate.

When asked about her position regarding a potential bout with Tate, Pena continued to imply that she was willing to fight anyone in the division: “I’ll fight whoever the matchmakers put in front of me.”

Those comments should certainly put a smile on the face of UFC President Dana White, who should be able to avoid an aneurysm over another pair of teammates refusing to fight one another.

Pena obviously has her own goals to accomplish in the UFC, and she is willing to go through anyone and everyone to make her dreams a reality.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

3 Fighters Who Should Get the Winner of Ronda Rousey-Miesha Tate

At the end of this month, UFC 168 will be the stage that hosts the women’s bantamweight title fight between undefeated champion Ronda Rousey and former Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate. The rivalry has been played out in the media and on The Ultimate…

At the end of this month, UFC 168 will be the stage that hosts the women’s bantamweight title fight between undefeated champion Ronda Rousey and former Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate. The rivalry has been played out in the media and on The Ultimate Fighter, where both women coached.

Rousey, of course, won the Strikeforce title from Tate not long ago and defended it against Sarah Kaufman. She was then crowned UFC champion and successfully defended that title against Liz Carmouche. 

When the dust settles from this intense rivalry, who will be there to step in and challenge for the belt next? Let’s look at three ladies who could fit the bill.

 

Cat Zingano

The obvious top candidate to get the next title shot is the woman who was set to be in Miesha Tate’s place to begin with: Cat Zingano. Zingano defeated Tate, earned a coaching spot opposite Rousey and earned her title shot.

Then she got injured. It was a devastating knee injury that required surgery and has laid her up to this day.

One has to think she’ll be the top contender when she returns. Zingano is undefeated as a pro, holding an 8-0 record with all but one finish.

Her last three wins came over Takayo Hashi, Raquel Pennington and Tate. That type of resume speaks for itself.

Plus, she is very good on the mat. I don’t know if she can outgrapple Rousey, but she could definitely give her a run for her money.

 

Sara McMann

The fighter most similar to Rousey in the UFC is definitely Sara McMann, given their Olympic backgrounds and success in international competitions. Rousey was a bronze-medal judoka, while McMann was a silver-medal wrestler.

McMann has been missing in action for a while, which has been a head-scratcher to WMMA fans. She was set to fight Kaufman back in August, but she mysteriously pulled out of that fight and hasn’t really been heard from since.

That being said, McMann is undefeated and has the wrestling to test both Tate and Rousey. To this day, she has defeated Shayna Baszler, Hitomi Akano and Tonya Evinger, among others.

She has the blueprint to be a champion. The sky is the limit, and if she is ready in the near future, she could potentially draw a title shot.

 

Alexis Davis

The dark horse of the entire women’s bantamweight division has to Canadian Alexis Davis, who rarely gets brought up in the mix of the title hunt. That is a mistake, as she has proved to be well-rounded and capable at the highest level.

Her current four-fight win streak has been impressive, to say the least. In that stretch, she has dominated Liz Carmouche, choked out Shayna Baszler and tapped Hitomi Akano, all of which have drawn great praise.

She is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, which would be a great challenge to either Rousey or Tate. She may be one more win away, but keep your eye on Davis in the future.

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