One of the biggest rivalries in MMA history is between two former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champions in Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate.
Although Tate has already suffered two defeats at the hands of Rousey -- one in Strikeforce and one in the UFC -- that hasn't stopped her from wanting another shot at her longtime rival.
"I know she's talked about retirement and I don't know why everyone is so surprised about that. I feel like she was saying that before she lost to Holly, she was coming to a close. For me, I just want to fight her one more time, and granted that she gets the job done, and wants to continue fighting. I would love to go one more time, so hopefully it's not too much of a race against the clock and I will be watching that fight with great interest,” said Tate at a UFC 205 media event.
Tate also considers ring rust a factor and feels that Rousey is making a huge mistake by taking a title shot after such a long absence.
"Ronda, for the longest time, was one of the best in the world, and if you want to make an argument, you could say she had an off-night like I did," Tate said. "So, she's still a big presence in this sport even though she's been gone a long time. It's going to create a lot of viewership and I guess in that sense, from a business perspective it makes sense. I don't know what it's going to do for Ronda as far as where she's at, you know what I mean? Do I think maybe not a five-round fight or a warmup fight would be better for her? Probably. Ring rust is a real thing, it can affect fighters, and you don't know, mentally, she's been out of the limelight so long, none of us are involved in her personal life, so you don't know how she's been dealing with the loss since then."
Tate’s next fight happens at UFC 205, which takes place on Saturday, November 12 from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. She'll take on Raquel Pennington.
