Miesha Tate Calls Out Ronda Rousey As UFC Rivalry Turns Ugly

Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey may have a chance to renew their ever-intensifying rivalry very soon.

Tate is calling out her rival, saying she wants a rematch with Rousey in the near future.

But Tate will need to take care of some other business first. She will take on Sara McMann at UFC 183 this weekend, and believes a win could propel her toward a rematch with her rival Rousey.

The Tate-Rousey rematch would likely take on a very different feel than their last two bouts. Though Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate have been rivals since entering the UFC, their feud recently turned quite ugly. The two have traded barbs in the press, with Tate recently slamming Rousey’s Hollywood ambitions. She appears in The Expendables 3, Fast & Furious 7, and a big screen adaptation of the HBO hit Entourage, which Tate said is hurting the UFC.

Tate went on a rant before Rousey faced off against Gina Carano, saying the following.

“The only thing that drives that is they’re both attractive. It makes the women’s title hold no value. It makes it look like it’s a joke and they just put whatever’s going to sell. If we’re going to really legitimize women’s MMA as a sport and have it respected as a sport, then you have to treat it as such… women’s MMA has been working to legitimize ourselves for so long, and we finally broke the ice, we’re finally in the UFC, and we’re getting some credibility. Don’t take that away by putting a fight together that is based entirely on looks and has little to nothing to do with skill set.”

But before Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey can meet again, Rousey will have to face Cat Zingano in UFC 184.

Tate admitted that she might have an easier time facing Zingano, but admitted it would be more “fun” to face Rousey again.

“I have a lot of vested interest in that fight and I really have mixed feelings about who I would prefer to win,” Tate told Fox Sports when speaking about the UFC 184 co-main event.

“I think if Zingano beats Rousey, it’s a much faster road to the title for myself so there’s a benefit there for me. The fact that our first fight had a lot of fireworks to it — it was a very exciting fight. I won the first two rounds and I just feel it was stopped too quickly in the third round, but it is what it is. If Cat wins, there’s a big argument why I would get the next title shot.”

“I think I have the best shot at beating her and I think I’ve proven that going into the third round with her. Regardless, it’s always fun for me to fight Ronda…”

But if Miesha Tate wants to make it a real rivalry, she will need a better performance than her first two bouts with Ronda Rousey. Though Tate took Rousey deeper than any other fighter has, Rousey was still able to come out victorious in both bouts.