Tag: miesha tate

Ronda Rousey Looking at TUF as a Way to Increase Visibilty for Women’s Division

When the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter debuts on Fox Sports 1 this fall, all eyes will be focused on the heated rivalry between UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and nemesis Miesha Tate.The two coaches have both seen a meteoric ris…

When the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter debuts on Fox Sports 1 this fall, all eyes will be focused on the heated rivalry between UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and nemesis Miesha Tate.

The two coaches have both seen a meteoric rise in fame since their highly entertaining 2012 Strikeforce title fight. Rousey has been transformed into the face of women’s MMA now that she’s the first female fighter to claim UFC gold.

And while “Rowdy’s” crossover star power coupled with the conflict between her and Tate will likely make for some great and dramatic television, Rousey hopes that the show will also help increase visibility for some of the lesser-known fighters who will be joining the UFC’s budding women’s division.

“I don’t need this show. I already have my options,” Rousey said in a recent interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Adam Hill. “But I want this division to work and I want it to keep going without me there. I think this show is the best way to increase the depth of the women’s division and get attention to the women’s division and get to know that there are good fighters there, people just don’t know who they are.”

It’s a nice sentiment by the reigning women’s champ, but the drama between her and Tate is already starting to make headlines, so I wouldn’t be surprised if their rivalry overshadows the actual competition.

UFC president Dana White recently told reporters that tension between the two coaches is already starting to boil over.

“It’s going exactly the way you thought it would be going: bad,” White said following a media event for UFC 161 . “Dead serious. Miesha and Ronda hate each other. It’s literally crazy drama every day. It’s irritating.”

The big boss even went so far as to compare the hatred Rousey and Tate have for each other to the TUF season 3 rivalry between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz.

Despite being apart of the ensuing drama, Rousey seems sincere when she says that she wants to help build the UFC’s new women’s division.

“I’m doing this show more in the interest of the division than to really accomplish very much personally,” she said.

I guess we’ll have to wait until Sept. 4 to see if the Rousey-Tate drama will leave the female competitors fighting in the shade.

 

Be sure to like Matt on Facebook and follow @MattchidaMMA.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

3 Reasons Fans Will Need to Tune into Season 18 of the Ultimate Fighter

A conflict between two passionate athletes creates interesting television—especially if those two athletes are fueled by estrogen.Granted, plenty of downright heated beefs have been sorted out on The Ultimate Fighter’s 17 action-packed seaso…

A conflict between two passionate athletes creates interesting television—especially if those two athletes are fueled by estrogen.

Granted, plenty of downright heated beefs have been sorted out on The Ultimate Fighter’s 17 action-packed seasons. But until season 18, the show had never featured a pair of female coaches who held genuine disdain for one another.

Longtime UFC color commentator Joe Rogan reacted to president Dana White’s decision to pit coaches Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate against one another on The Ultimate Fighter by saying the following during the UFC 158 prelims: 

“That sounds ridiculous. Men and women living in the house together. That sounds like cats and dogs. You’re going to have problems Dana White.”

Here are three reasons to tune into season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter. 

Begin Slideshow

TUF 18 Preview: Could Some Fighters Have Beef with Rousey and Tate?

The Ultimate Fighter 18 is currently filming, and UFC President Dana White says there is drama every day.“Miesha and Ronda hate each other,” White said. “It’s like literally crazy drama every day.” However, that is between…

The Ultimate Fighter 18 is currently filming, and UFC President Dana White says there is drama every day.

“Miesha and Ronda hate each other,” White said. “It’s like literally crazy drama every day.”

However, that is between the coaches. What about the fighters? Much has been made about the mixed-gender cast heading into this season, but the real drama on the show could be fighters having issues with their coaches.

Why?

Several of the female cast members are long-time veterans of the sport. Rousey, albeit an Olympic medalist in judo, is only 7-0 in the sport. The veterans have been training longer, are more experienced in other disciplines and have had more experienced coaches.

The veterans are likely to give Rousey a break. Her elite status with the UFC, as well as her Olympic background, will gain her favor. The entire cast will at least have that to learn from Rousey.

A couple veteran female fighters took to Twitter prior to the Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano battle to complain about her potential coaching. Tara LaRosa and Tonya Evinger were two of them, and they made no bones about their displeasure of Tate.

We have not seen Tate coach, but we have seen her corner, Bryan Caraway, including the infamous “coast” debacle that led to a split decision loss to Takeya Mizugaki in March. It will be interesting to see which fighters remember that bit heading into this season of TUF.

This is all focusing on the female issues with their less experienced coaches. That is not taking into consideration the male fighters of the cast.

Viewers cannot be naive and believe just because of Rousey‘s background—or Tate’s for that matter—that these fighters will enter willing to listen to them immediately. Misogyny is very real with male athletes. Across all sports, it is a concern when a female is the coach.

That is why the most important factor for the coaches could be who they have brought along as their assistants. They may be able to bridge the gap and allow anyone with an issue to quell their concerns.

The angst of the female veterans and potential misogyny from the male cast only adds to the intrigue of this season.

There will be a lot going on outside of the cage. From potential cast beefs with the coaches to the Rousey-Tate rivalry to in-house antics, this could be one of the most intriguing seasons of the show to date.

It seems as if there is more of a chance that fighters would have an issue with Tate than Rousey, but both interactions will be interesting to watch. Rousey has been on the show before but never as a full-time coach.

When The Ultimate Fighter returns, we will have a whole lot to pay attention to outside of the fights.

One can only hope that any potential cast member that has an issue with Rousey or Tate deals with it quickly. The bottom line is that these coaches are at the top of the food chain in their division and are backed by the UFC. The cast members are simply trying to join the organization. They need to know their role.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Friday Link Dump: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos III Gets a Venue, Rousey/Tate TUF Rivalry Is ‘Pure F–king Mayhem’, The Worst NFL Coaches Ever + More


(“Did you get the shot? Good, now take this disgusting pale creature away from me.” / Check out 24 more “Awkward Dad Photos” at WorldWideInterweb)

Dana White Says TUF 18’s Rousey-Tate Rivalry Is ‘Pure F–king Mayhem Every Day’ (MMAFighting)

Champ Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos III Likely at UFC 166, October in Houston (MMAJunkie)

MMA in New York: How Did the UFC Go from Confidence to ‘Who Gives a S**t’? (BleacherReport)

UFC 161 Extended Video Preview for Evans vs. Henderson (FightDay)

UFC Middleweights Patrick Cote and Kyle Noke Named as Coaches for TUF Nations: ‘Canada vs. Australia’ (MMAMania)

GIF Gallery: The Best of the 2013 NBA Playoffs (Complex)

25 Ways to Lose Fat Faster (MensFitness)

3 Extreme Examples of the Internet Destroying Relationships (DoubleViking)

Jeep vs. Pool: Redneck FAIL (EgoTV)

The 16 Worst Coaches in Modern NFL History (Deadspin)

Online Graduates, Meet Your Commencement Speaker: Gary Busey (Break.com)


(“Did you get the shot? Good, now take this disgusting pale creature away from me.” / Check out 24 more “Awkward Dad Photos” at WorldWideInterweb)

Dana White Says TUF 18′s Rousey-Tate Rivalry Is ‘Pure F–king Mayhem Every Day’ (MMAFighting)

Champ Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos III Likely at UFC 166, October in Houston (MMAJunkie)

MMA in New York: How Did the UFC Go from Confidence to ‘Who Gives a S**t’? (BleacherReport)

UFC 161 Extended Video Preview for Evans vs. Henderson (FightDay)

UFC Middleweights Patrick Cote and Kyle Noke Named as Coaches for TUF Nations: ‘Canada vs. Australia’ (MMAMania)

GIF Gallery: The Best of the 2013 NBA Playoffs (Complex)

25 Ways to Lose Fat Faster (MensFitness)

3 Extreme Examples of the Internet Destroying Relationships (DoubleViking)

Jeep vs. Pool: Redneck FAIL (EgoTV)

The 16 Worst Coaches in Modern NFL History (Deadspin)

Online Graduates, Meet Your Commencement Speaker: Gary Busey (Break.com)

Cat Zingano, Husband and Ronda Rousey All Gang Up on Miesha Tate on Twitter

It’s like an episode of Mean Girls in the UFC women’s bantamweight division now that Cat Zingano and Ronda Rousey have officially teamed up against Miesha Tate.Recently, the two UFC stars had a little bit of fun at Tate’s expense in a brief Twitter exc…

It’s like an episode of Mean Girls in the UFC women’s bantamweight division now that Cat Zingano and Ronda Rousey have officially teamed up against Miesha Tate.

Recently, the two UFC stars had a little bit of fun at Tate’s expense in a brief Twitter exchange. Even Zingano‘s husband, Mauricio Zingano, joined in on the conversation.

There are certainly no surprises with any shared animosity between Rousey and Tate, who have been bitter rivals for years. In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, Rousey compared her rivalry with Tate to Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

Zingano, on the other hand, has generally stayed out of the spotlight when it comes to social media drama. There wasn’t much in the way of pre-fight trash talk leading up to her No. 1 contender’s bout with Tate back in April.

Why would she take verbal swipes at Tate now?

Perhaps Zingano harbors a bit of resentment towards Tate for taking her place as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter Season 18.

She defeated Tate in her UFC debut to earn the coveted coaching position and a shot at Rousey‘s UFC title, but she was forced to relinquish her coaching duties and title shot after tearing her ACL and meniscus during training.

With Zingano sidelined for six to nine months, Tate was offered an opportunity to step in as a late replacement as both a coach and No. 1 contender.

If not resentment, some will look back at the alleged elbow incident involving Zingano and Tate’s boyfriend, Bryan Caraway. According to Zingano, Caraway struck her in the back of the head with an elbow while walking past her backstage at the weigh-ins for The Ultimate Fighter 17 finale. She claimed that Caraway “smiled” after the alleged incident and that he and Miesha were “both in on it.”

Whatever the case may be, Tate is baffled by Zingano‘s remarks. Instead of pouring gasoline on the fire, she took the high road in wishing Zingano well in her recovery and encouraging the rest of Twitter to do the same.

Did Zingano and her husband cross the line with their comments, or is the situation being blown out of proportion?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Video: Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate Discuss Their Mutual Admiration/Dislike Ahead of TUF 18

Now that it’s been confirmed that Miesha Tate will be replacing the injured Cat Zingano on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC has hustled together a hype video with Tate and Ronda Rousey trading compliments, with just a dash of hostility. Some highlights…

Rousey: “I’ve always respected Miesha as a fighter, and I’ve always respected her as an athlete. How we feel personally has nothing really to do with that. In fact I’ve said it within the same sentence, that I think that she’s entirely legit, but I don’t really feel bad about hitting her.”

Tate: “Ronda, obviously, is a phenomenal fighter, she’s undefeated…as a person, I don’t think she’s quite as stellar.”

Rousey: “I’m actually honored to be coaching opposed her on this show, and I think that this is really what was fated to happen, and I’m really lucky to have a rival like her. If I didn’t have her around, I would suffer.”

Tate: “We have our definite disagreements, but I give her credit for what she’s done and where she’s got in the sport of women’s MMA. Without her, I don’t think we’d be as far so I do value that. But at the same time, I feel like I’m right on her heels, and I want what she has.”

Some of you may already be looking forward to the entertaining level of tension that the Ronda/Miesha pairing will create on the show, to which I’d reply — wasn’t Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen supposed to be WILD and CRAZY as well? And all I remember from that season was Chael delivering some speech about how a group of guys were asked to walk a plank on the ground, and they all did it with no problem, and then the plank was raised up in the air, and nobody would do it, but it was the same action, it’s just that the environment had changed, or something? Come on, somebody has to know what I’m talking about.

Bottom line: The only way to guarantee drama on TUF 18 is to cast this lady as an assistant coach.

Now that it’s been confirmed that Miesha Tate will be replacing the injured Cat Zingano on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC has hustled together a hype video with Tate and Ronda Rousey trading compliments, with just a dash of hostility. Some highlights…

Rousey: “I’ve always respected Miesha as a fighter, and I’ve always respected her as an athlete. How we feel personally has nothing really to do with that. In fact I’ve said it within the same sentence, that I think that she’s entirely legit, but I don’t really feel bad about hitting her.”

Tate: “Ronda, obviously, is a phenomenal fighter, she’s undefeated…as a person, I don’t think she’s quite as stellar.”

Rousey: “I’m actually honored to be coaching opposed her on this show, and I think that this is really what was fated to happen, and I’m really lucky to have a rival like her. If I didn’t have her around, I would suffer.”

Tate: “We have our definite disagreements, but I give her credit for what she’s done and where she’s got in the sport of women’s MMA. Without her, I don’t think we’d be as far so I do value that. But at the same time, I feel like I’m right on her heels, and I want what she has.”

Some of you may already be looking forward to the entertaining level of tension that the Ronda/Miesha pairing will create on the show, to which I’d reply — wasn’t Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen supposed to be WILD and CRAZY as well? And all I remember from that season was Chael delivering some speech about how a group of guys were asked to walk a plank on the ground, and they all did it with no problem, and then the plank was raised up in the air, and nobody would do it, but it was the same action, it’s just that the environment had changed, or something? Come on, somebody has to know what I’m talking about.

Bottom line: The only way to guarantee drama on TUF 18 is to cast this lady as an assistant coach.