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After Unfavorable Portrayal in Season 18, Ronda Rousey Claims She “No Longer Supports” The Ultimate Fighter

(A vote against wholesome, quality entertainment like this is a vote against America, IMHO.)

It would be hard to deny that the MMA commentsphere’s seething hatred of all things Ronda Rousey was ever more intense than during her coaching gig on The Ultimate Fighter 18. Whether it was her brash personality, her wild mood swings, or her inability to be humble in victory or classy in defeat, it’s safe to say that “Rowdy” rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way by the time TUF had finished taping. Not that affected her ability to kick ass in the slightest, because well, Rousey is the kind of crazy that cannot be phased by unfavorable media coverage. Or trash-talk. Or the skillset of 99% of her opponents.

In any case, Rousey recently spoke with Sportsnet about her time on the show, and when the discussion shifted to the “infamous” brawl between Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen on this season’s TUF Brazil, the women’s champ revealed that not even she supports the reality show that many feel has long overstayed its welcome:

I don’t watch ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ now that I know how much bull is in it. I don’t support it.

They don’t know the first thing about fighting. They only know about reality TV and they treated us like we were ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ and not elite athletes that should be respected.

You hear that? Ronda Rousey just sort-of referred to Miesha Tate as an “elite athlete.” Can we all forgive her for that whole handshake diss now?

(A vote against wholesome, quality entertainment like this is a vote against America, IMHO.)

I don’t watch ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ now that I know how much bull is in it. I don’t support it.

They don’t know the first thing about fighting. They only know about reality TV and they treated us like we were ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ and not elite athletes that should be respected.

You hear that? Ronda Rousey just sort-of referred to Miesha Tate as an “elite athlete.” Can we all forgive her for that whole handshake diss now?

Having briefly been employed in the soulless, hackneyed landscape that is reality television, I have to agree with Ronda here. Reality television producers are greasy-palmed, ghoulish characters who will use whatever editing tricks they need in order to fabricate drama, often out of thin air and with no regard to the integrity of the people they are portraying.

Take for instance, when Tate attempted to shake hands with Rousey following a victory in episode 7, only to have Rousey and Marina Shafir flip her the bird in response. Did you know that Rousey was actually giving her a thumbs up, and that those trickster TUF editors blurred it to make it *look* as if she was giving Tate the universal symbol for go fuck yourself? Or that the moment where Rousey defeated Tate in the coaches’ challenge and yelled “Fuck you, bitch!” while flipping her off was actually done using body doubles, 3D image scanners, and performance capture technology? Or that when, even after TUF had wrapped, the producers injected Rousey with a combination of horse tranquilizer and estrogen prior to her TUF 18 Finale interview to make her appear frigid and uninterested? Like I said, bastards all, those reality show producers are.

Which reminds me, has anyone been watching TUF 19? I know the rapport between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar seemed respectful during the premiere, but I literally have not caught a second of the show since. That said, I really hope that one guy who’s struggling to support his wife and three kids wins this season. You know, the one with the tribal arm band and perpetual stubble who didn’t come to make any friends and never leaves it in the hands of the judges. Yeah, go that guy.

–J. Jones

Miesha Tate Wants to Welcome Gina Carano to the UFC (Video)

Ever since Gina Carano expressed interest in returning to the Octagon after almost six years of absence, the news has generated a tremendous amount of buzz. Her announcement has sparked rumors regarding whom the mixed martial arts fighter-turned-a…

There are those who believe, including UFC president Dana White, that Carano should receive an immediate title shot and face the current bantamweight champion. However, the former Strikeforce bantamweight champion, Miesha Tate, feels that she would be best suited to welcome the former “face of women’s mixed martial arts” to the Octagon.

In a recent interview with Chael Sonnen and Kenny Florian on UFC Tonight, when asked whom she would like to fight next in the Octagon, Tate immediately named Carano as a possible opponent. She stated (full video below):

I would love a fight with Gina Carano. Honestly, you know, she’s gonna make her comeback to MMA after five and a half years, and I don’t think it makes sense to go straight for the title. So, I think I’d be a great matchup for her to come back on.

A Carano/Tate matchup would be nothing less than stellar. Although Tate has only yielded a 1-2 record since her UFC debut, she is still the division’s No. 3 contender. In addition, “Cupcake’s” feud with the current bantamweight champion is a major reason that women’s mixed martial arts exists in the UFC today, giving further credibility to the Washington native’s comments regarding a possible matchup with Carano. In fact, there is reason to believe Tate would actually beat Carano if a matchup was to occur.

“Cupcake” holds a major advantage over Carano with her deep grappling background. The 2008 second-place no-gi FILA grappling world champion’s strength lies in her ability to out-grapple many of her opponents. Almost half of Tate’s victories have come by submission, with her most notable tapout victory over former Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen.

Previous to Carano’s extended absence from mixed martial arts, her ground game was highly suspect. That, plus nearly six years of ring rust could leave Carano defeated in her first UFC appearance—facts that Tate is willing to exploit.

Conversely, Carano has grounds in Muay Thai, and has established a successful career off her stand-up game. A win over Tate would speak volumes and put her on the map with respect to the female’s 135-pound division. It could possibly even grant her a title shot against the undefeated MMA phenom and former Olympian Ronda Rousey.

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UFC Should Let Good Sense Prevail over Profit, Book Gina Carano vs. Miesha Tate

Let’s all say it together: Ugh.
Not to be the bearer of soul-crushing news, but the tea leaves indicate a long-rumored, much-decried fight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano may still be in the offing.

Despite the UFC’s good and proper r…

Let’s all say it together: Ugh.

Not to be the bearer of soul-crushing news, but the tea leaves indicate a long-rumored, much-decried fight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano may still be in the offing.

Despite the UFC’s good and proper recent decision to book Rousey against Alexis Davis at July’s UFC 175, company president Dana White re-stoked the fires about a Carano superfight on Saturday, following UFC on Fox 11.

White reportedly emerged from last week’s meeting with Carano positively glowing and indicated he’s still hopeful a deal can get done. During the Fox event’s media scrum he also defended the notion the fighter-turned-actress might step straight into a bout for Rousey’s gold.

“I do think she does (deserve an immediate title shot),” White said, via BloodyElbow.com’s Karim Zidan. “She’s legit. Everybody knows she’s legit.”

He probably said more, but the profuse groaning and hissing of his organization’s hardcore fanbase drowned out the rest. Or at least it did in our imaginations.

The obvious truth, of course, is that we have no idea how legit Carano would be five-and-a-half years removed from her last MMA win and fighting at a weight she hasn’t made since 2006. We all understand the various reasons why the UFC might let her waltz into a fight with Rousey, but—to quote the fictional gunslinger William Munny—deserve’s surely got nothing to do with it.

Fortunately, Miesha Tate was also on hand in Orlando, Fla., to save us the trouble of rehashing it all. When asked at the post-fight press conference how she’d feel about having a bout with Carano, she too had notions.

“I’ll take that fight all day long … ,” Tate said, via Bleacher Report’s John Heinis. “I’d love to fight Gina.”

Finally, somebody who makes sense.

If Carano is serious about returning to MMA via the UFC’s Octagon, then Tate is a far more competitive, more defensible first fight for her than Rousey. Save for perhaps its capacity to trick non-fight fans into paying for it, it is in all ways the preferable matchup.

For one thing, Tate is the fight company’s second most famous female fighter and is coming off a victory over Liz Carmouche in the co-main event of a network television broadcast. She’s likable, used to hyping big fights and—aside from the fact she doesn’t tear people’s arms off like it’s going out of style—is every bit as good an ambassador for women’s MMA as Rousey.

Most importantly, she’s not the champion. For that reason alone, inserting her as Carano’s first UFC foe makes more sense.

For Rousey, a bout with Carano would be little more than a significant pay day and a light night of work to cap a year where she took some time off to make movies. In stark contrast, a fight against the athlete formerly hailed as “the face of women’s MMA” would be pretty meaningful for Tate’s career.

Truth is, she hasn’t been as good as we’d hoped she might be since coming over from Strikeforce with a 13-3 record. Her come-from-behind win over Carmouche last weekend was her first inside the Octagon and with two losses to Rousey already on her record, she’d have to do something pretty spectacular to get another shot at the champion.

If she managed to get a W over Carano, it would amount to a high-profile victory over a “legit” opponent (a woman the UFC steadfastly claims would be an automatic top contender) and would raise her overall profile with fans while putting her back in the 135-pound hunt.

For Carano, taking on Tate would prove she’s not just here for a one-off cash-grab or as a way to promote some upcoming film. For a 32-year-old veteran with a long layoff, it shapes up as a more desirable comeback fight, one where perhaps she won’t be tapping from an arm bar while the echoes of “let’s get it on” still hang in the air.

If actual MMA fans are drawn to watch Carano fight again at all, it’ll be out of a mild interest to see how her skills have held up during her time away. In that regard, Tate is a vastly more compelling matchup than Rousey.

We know pretty much exactly how Rousey vs. Carano would go. But Carano vs. Tate? Now, that’s interesting.

As for the UFC, a Tate-Carano fight would be a good opportunity for the company to continue forging new stars in women’s MMA. Not to mention, it would go a long way to proving the promotion is interested in more than just one women’s bantamweight.

No, it probably won’t make as much money, at least in the short term. Then again, if the UFC takes the time to build its women’s division around competitive matchups and realistic stakes, perhaps it could earn something even more valuable.

Our good faith.

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UFC on FOX 11 Fight Video Highlights: Werdum vs. Browne, Cerrone vs. Barboza + More

(Fabricio Werdum vs. Travis Browne highlights. All vids via YouTube.com/FOXSports)

(Donald Cerrone vs. Edson Barboza highlights)

In case you missed it on Saturday night, here are some video highlights from the UFC on FOX 11 main card, featuring Fabricio Werdum’s unexpected standup-thrashing of Travis Browne, and Donald Cerrone’s comeback submission victory over Edson Barboza. A couple of important notes…

– Cerrone picked up a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his win over Barboza; Cowboy has now bonus’d in three consecutive fights. All the other UFC on FOX 11 bonuses went to prelim fighters. Thiago Alves and Seth Baczynski won Fight of the Night for their three-rounder which Alves won by unanimous decision, and Performance of the Night #2 went to UFC newcomer Alex White — who was previously involved in the ugliest late-stoppage in MMA history — for his first-round TKO of Estevan Payan.

– At the post-event press conference, Dana White mentioned that Travis Browne suffered a broken hand and possibly broken rib during his fight against Werdum, and Browne’s wrestling coach Ricky Lundell released an x-ray of Hapa’s broken hand after the fight. For some reason, the official UFC on FOX 11 medical suspensions list mentions a broken nose for Browne but not a broken hand. Whatever. The point is, he got pretty messed up.

After the jump: Highlights from Miesha Tate vs. Liz Carmouche and Yoel Romero vs. Brad Tavares. Plus, Dana White (mostly) praises Werdum’s performance in the main event while burying Browne for gassing out early, and Shaquille O’Neal eats a napkin for some reason.

(Fabricio Werdum vs. Travis Browne highlights. All vids via YouTube.com/FOXSports)

(Donald Cerrone vs. Edson Barboza highlights)

Miesha Tate: ‘I’d Love to Fight Gina [Carano]’

UFC on Fox 11 winner Miesha Tate already has a list of opponents in mind for her next fight following a victory over fellow former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Liz Carmouche on Saturday night.
At the post-fight press conference, “Cupc…

At the post-fight press conference, “Cupcake” respectfully listed Sarah Kaufman, Holly Holm and Gina Carano as those whom she’d like to square off with next inside the Octagon, per Bloody Elbow.

“I think Sarah Kaufman would be a good fight. I lost that one in Strikeforce. How about Holly Holm? She wants to climb her way to the top, I’d be a great starting point.” When asked if she’d be interested in fighting Gina Carano, Tate responded, “I’d like it. I’ll take that fight all day long, for sure. I mean, I’ll fight anybody, but I’d love to fight Gina.”

While Tate is just 2-3 in her past five contests, two of those losses were to UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey.

According to the UFC’s official rankings (prior to the win over Carmouche), Tate was still the No. 3 female 135-pound fighter in the world.

Carano, who hasn’t fought since August 2009, for weeks had been rumored to sign with the UFC to set up a superfight with Rousey, but those rumors have died out since Rousey was booked to fight Alexis Davis at UFC 175 on July 5.

A week-and-a-half ago, Tate told Fox Sports it would be unfair to give Carano a title shot right off the bat, given her extended layoff from the fight game.

The interview was also the first time she expressed an interest in a bout with Carano.

Meanwhile, Holm, a three-division boxing champion with a 33-2-3 record in the ring, is 7-0 as a professional mixed martial artist and was negotiating with the UFC late last year.

However, it appears UFC President Dana White wasn’t interested in starting Holm off with a six-figure salary, so it remains to be seen what the future holds for the 32-year-old striker.

Finally, Tate and Kaufman traded leather under the Strikeforce banner back in May 2009, with Kaufman getting her hand raised after a hard-fought decision.

With no clear title contenders past Davis and Cat Zingano, who makes the most sense for Tate to throw down with next inside the Octagon?

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

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UFC on Fox 11: Post-Fight Stock Report

This far into the year, few would argue the claim that UFC on Fox 11 may have very well been the most enjoyable fight card of 2014.
On paper, top-tier names like Fabricio Werdum, Miesha Tate and Donald Cerrone are enough to drive interest in a pay-per-…

This far into the year, few would argue the claim that UFC on Fox 11 may have very well been the most enjoyable fight card of 2014.

On paper, top-tier names like Fabricio Werdum, Miesha Tate and Donald Cerrone are enough to drive interest in a pay-per-view—let alone a free televised fight card, accessible to the masses.

On Saturday night, all of the essential fighters delivered in spades—the finishes were brutal, while the decisions were edge-of-your-seat exciting.

Sure, the show ran past its scheduled run time, but in all honesty, you’d have to be crazy to complain.

In the wake of Saturday night’s fight card, MMA fans are left with a new No. 1 contender in Fabricio Werdum—when he takes on Cain Velasquez in Mexico, you can safely expect fireworks in heavyweight form.

Let’s take a look at where stock went up with victory, as opposed to those who dropped as a result of defeat at UFC on Fox 11.

Begin Slideshow