Tag: miesha tate

Ronda Rousey: Miesha Tate in Title Fight Due to ‘Nice Ass,’ Not Talent

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey hopes to finally end her rivalry with former Strikeforce titleholder Miesha Tate on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean she’s had any problem hyping the fight. 
Speaking to Jim Rome on CBS Sports Radio on…

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey hopes to finally end her rivalry with former Strikeforce titleholder Miesha Tate on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean she’s had any problem hyping the fight. 

Speaking to Jim Rome on CBS Sports Radio on Thursday, “Rowdy” said outright that Tate’s physical attributes and their hatred for one another earned him another shot at championship gold, as opposed to her fight resume, per MMA Mania:

Miesha has a nice ass and she has an ongoing rivalry with me and that’s the only reason she was picked for this fight. The rivalry is why she is even around. It’s not because of her athletic merit. She really has to play that part of it up (rivalry) because that’s all she really has. She has to make it personal because you can’t make it an athletic rivalry because there really is no comparison. I’m an Olympic athlete and she’s a high school wrestler.

To the champ’s point, Tate is just 1-2 in her past three bouts and is actually coming off a loss to Cat Zingano at The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 Finale in April. 

In fairness, though, Tate was a last-minute replacement to coach opposite of Rousey on Season 18 of TUF, the first season of the reality series to feature both male and female competitors. 

The first time the two women met inside the cage for the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title in March 2012, Rousey secured her patented first-round armbar to capture her first major MMA title.

The 26-year-old enters the grudge rematch with her perfect record (7-0) intact, never seeing the second round thus far.

Will Rousey continue her reign of dominance at UFC 168, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, or will Tate pull off a stunning upset and extend their feud? 

 

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

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UFC 168 Predictions Video: Pros Pick Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate Winner

UFC 168 will not only mark the return of Anderson Silva and the career-defining moment of Chris Weidman, but it will feature one of the biggest grudge matches of all time: Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate.
In their first meeting, a Strikeforce women’s bant…

UFC 168 will not only mark the return of Anderson Silva and the career-defining moment of Chris Weidman, but it will feature one of the biggest grudge matches of all time: Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate.

In their first meeting, a Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title fight back in early 2012, Rousey‘s submission skills proved too much for then-champion Tate.

Subsequently, “Rowdy” snapped the arm of “Cupcake,” launching herself to the forefront of women’s mixed martial arts and sparking the popular diva you see today.

In any case, Tate will have her chance on Dec. 28 in Las Vegas to avenge that heart-wrenching loss and reclaim a title that once hung around her waist.

Here are the pros’ picks for UFC 168’s co-main event, compliments of MMAinterviews‘ video on YouTube (originally reported by MMA Underground).

 

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Ronda Rousey: ‘Women’s Division Is Gotham City and I Am Batman’

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey gets a chance to continue her unbeaten streak against arch nemesis Miesha Tate at UFC 168 next Saturday and she couldn’t care less that she is being portrayed as the bad guy after season 18 of The Ult…

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey gets a chance to continue her unbeaten streak against arch nemesis Miesha Tate at UFC 168 next Saturday and she couldn’t care less that she is being portrayed as the bad guy after season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Speaking one-on-one with MMA HEAT’s Karyn Bryant, “Rowdy” explains that not only does she not mind being portrayed as the villain, per MMA Junkie, it’s what needed to happen for the best interests of women’s MMA. 

“Well, if you saw the Batman (movie) where he had to make Aaron Eckhart look like the good guy, and then make himself look like the bad guy—because that’s what Gotham city needed—ya know, the women’s division is Gotham City and I am Batman. And, um, Miesha’s ‘Scarface,'” the champ said with a laugh.

Rousey is referencing the 2008 box office hit The Dark Knight, where Aaron Eckhart portrays District Attorney Harvey Dent (spoiler alert), who later becomes the villain Two-Face after getting half of his face lit on fire in an explosion. 

(Major spoiler alert), at the conclusion of the film, Two-Face dies as Batman saves Commissioner James Gordon and his family from being killed off by the former “white knight” of Gotham City. 

As part of his revenge tour, Two-Face killed several Gotham police officers, which Batman took the blame for so that the Dent’s legacy could remain an untarnished symbol of hope for the city. 

Furthermore, if the character of Al Pacino’s Scarface, also known as Tony Montana, needs an explanation, shame on you. 

For the record, Rousey states later in the interview that she “always loved playing the heel, the villain role.”

Quite a unique analogy from Rousey, but there is no question that the Tate-Rousey rivalry has provided a spark for women’s MMA for the better part of the past two years. 

The 26-year-old titleholder has a chance to finally slam the door on that rivalry on December 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Now if Tate wins, obviously that’s a different story entirely. 

 

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

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Ronda Rousey: ‘I Would Love to Fight Holly Holm’

Although her rematch with former Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate is just over a week away, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is already scouting the division for who’s next.
In an interview with Fight Hub TV, “Rowdy” explains that there are …

Although her rematch with former Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate is just over a week away, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is already scouting the division for who’s next.

In an interview with Fight Hub TV, “Rowdy” explains that there are a number of competent title challengers waiting in the wings, including Cat Zingano, Sara McMann and Alexis Davis. 

However, the potential opponent that seemed to pique her interest the most is fellow undefeated fighter Holly Holm, who has compiled a 6-0 record on the regional scene after a stellar boxing career. 

“I’d love to fight Holly Holm; I would absolutely love to fight Holly Holm. I really hope that the UFC picks her up and that I get to fight her before I retire,” Rousey stated. 

While Holm is still relatively new to the sport of MMA, she only has one less professional fight than Rousey and has racked up four victories this year, three of which came in the form of a blistering knockout. 

However, it appears that the 32-year-old striker wants to play hard ball before she steps inside the Octagon, asking for six figures to compete in a title bout right off the bat, per Sherdog. 

Rousey, who also just told MMA Junkie she plans to retire undefeated, is 7-0 inside the cage, stopping all of her opponents with her patented armbar in the first round.

The former Olympic bronze medalist netted the same result in her March 2012 encounter with Tate, though “Cupcake” came out swinging and put Rousey in some tough sports early in the fight.

Rousey and Tate potentially settle their score at UFC 168, set for December 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., with the championship bout serving at the event’s co-headliner.

Will fight fans see Rousey vs. Holm in the foreseeable future, or will Tate shock the world and make it so no one has any interest in that fight after next week?

 

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

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UFC 168 Preview: Weidman vs. Silva, Rousey vs. Tate Predictions

Dana White says UFC 168 will be the biggest pay-per-view event in UFC history, according to Dave Doyle of MMAFighting.com. 
I disagree. I don’t think it’s going to come remotely close to dethroning UFC 100 as the MMA pay-per-view king. But there’s…

Dana White says UFC 168 will be the biggest pay-per-view event in UFC history, according to Dave Doyle of MMAFighting.com. 

I disagree. I don’t think it’s going to come remotely close to dethroning UFC 100 as the MMA pay-per-view king. But there’s little question that it’s going to be one of the biggest events of 2013, and that’s mostly due to the final two fights—championship rematches with high levels of anticipation.

It’s headlined by Chris Weidman defending his middleweight championship for the first time against the man who used to hold the belt, Anderson Silva. Weidman shocked the world last summer when he finished Silva in the second round of their UFC 162 main event, handing Silva his first-ever loss in the promotion and dethroning the pound-for-pound king. 

Now, they fight again, and I’m here to preview that matchup. 

I’ll also take a look at the co-main event between Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate. Does “Cupcake” have a chance of doing what nobody else has done thus far in Rousey’s career? Can she wrest control of the UFC bantamweight championship away from the armbar queen? And, most importantly, will she get revenge for Rousey’s ludicrous behavior on Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter?

Check out my official predictions for these UFC 168 showdowns by viewing the video above. 

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UFC 168: Miesha Tate Has No Shot vs. Ronda Rousey, or Does She?

Ronda Rousey’s championship run started back in March 2012 in Strikeforce. She marched down the runway in Columbus, Ohio, put Miesha Tate in the armbar and walked out as champion.
Many had felt, including Tate, that Rous…

Ronda Rousey‘s championship run started back in March 2012 in Strikeforce. She marched down the runway in Columbus, Ohio, put Miesha Tate in the armbar and walked out as champion.

Many had felt, including Tate, that Rousey didn’t deserve the title shot, that she had only gotten the title shot based on her mouth and that she leapfrogged contenders such as Sarah Kaufman.

Regardless of why she got the title shot, she proved she deserved it.

She made quick work of Tate and dislocated her elbow in the process. Rousey followed that up with two more armbar victories—one over Kaufman and the other in the first-ever UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship fight against Liz Carmouche.

Tate, on the other hand, has gone 1-1 in two hard-fought bouts. She was nearly knocked out against Julie Kedzie but came back to win via her own armbar, and she was leading on the cards against Cat Zingano before being taken out in the third round.

Based on recent performances and their first fight, does Miesha Tate have any shot against Rousey?

The oddsmakers will tell you not really, and they’re right. Rousey is as high as a minus-1,000 favorite. Those odds are accurate.

Let’s be clear: Miesha Tate is a quality, well-rounded fighter. And, naturally, anything can happen in a fight. Tate has a puncher’s chance against Rousey.

A very slim puncher’s chance.

Tate is primarily a grappler. She has a wrestling background, and she loves to take her opponents to the mat. That is not going to work against Rousey. Tate has to rely on her striking in this bout, and she is not the best striker. She has put in more time in MMA than Rousey has, but the gap between them is all but closed. In fact, Rousey’s striking ability may have already passed Tate’s.

That leaves “Cupcake” with little outs in this fight.

Rousey has not shown her striking in the cage yet because there’s been no need. However, video of her striking in the gym shows steady improvement. She has been laser focused—not on power shots or punches but on head movement and footwork.

Tate has to keep this fight standing or at the very least get lucky with a takedown of her own. She has to fight the perfect fight. And that is remarkably hard to do against someone of Rousey’s caliber.

All the champ has to do in this fight is to get close. Once she gets her paws on Tate, it is over. There is next to nothing Tate can do to avoid being tossed to the mat. “Rowdy” is that good.

There is a reason that she was an Olympian. Tate is not on that level in that particular position.

And we have all seen what happens when Rousey puts an opponent on the mat. The fight is over relativity soon thereafter.

Fueled by hate, the champ will show us a more vicious Rousey.

Tate is in a lot of trouble come UFC 168 on Dec. 28. The fight is a terrible matchup for her, and her one hope may be that Rousey’s hatred will lead to a mental lapse at some point. What is more likely is that Rousey will put on a dominant display of violence as she seeks to make Tate suffer.

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