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.