Miesha Tate is not a fan of Ronda Rousey, to put it lightly. When Rousey lost to Holly Holm in November, there were a lot of mean things said… but Tate took the cake, saying “Honestly, f*ck Ronda Rousey. F**k her and her nobody has the right to beat her? Well, you just got beat, bitch.”
The two have a lot of history. They’ve fought twice, with the second fight involving an entire season’s worth of drama on The Ultimate Fighter beforehand. That resulted in a lot of middle fingers being thrown around and no handshake between the two after Rousey beat Tate again.
Tate’s career is currently up in the air on account of Rousey, too – she has been feuding with the UFC ever since they unexpectedly switched her our of a third fight with Rousey for Holm. The UFC is also refusing to let Holm fight Tate before a rematch with Rousey goes down in July for UFC 200.
So, keep all that in mind when Tate shares her opinion on Rousey’s chances of defeating Holm so soon. Via MMA Junkie Radio:
“I’m not a fan of the rematch in that amount of time, because with everything else that Ronda has going on, plus her injuries, I just don’t think it’s going to amount to a good outcome,” Tate told MMAjunkie Radio. “It wasn’t a competitive fight, and Holly has the perfect style to beat Ronda. Holly’s already back in the gym training; she had no injuries from the fight. She knows she’s fighting Ronda next, but she gets this whole time to fix maybe even the little things she wanted to improve on in the fight. She’s going to be even more prepared, and I don’t know if it’s a smart move, because Ronda might go 0-2.”
That’s all part and parcel in what makes the rematch so interesting: the fact that Rousey could lose. After years of being the invincible favorite, we’re getting our first taste of doubt regarding the former champ’s abilities. And honestly, a lot of people are taking it a little far with these declarations that she’ll get stomped in the rematch.
Let’s never forget that Rousey is always one judo throw away from arm-barring her opponents and winning a fight. She also doesn’t need to get better at boxing than Holm. She just needs to figure out a way to neutralize it long enough to close the distance and get her hands on the new champ. Easier said than done, but a few months ago everyone thought that was a foregone conclusion. Now popular opinion has swung the other way, with the truth lying somewhere in between. That’s what makes the Holm vs Rousey rematch such an exciting fight.
(Via MMA Junkie)