Holly Holm Becomes The Prey, As Miesha Tate And Ronda Rousey Race For The Belt

Ronda Rousey has her eye on Holly Holm with a determination to regain the title she lost so abruptly, but Miesha Tate is now making it known that she’s also gunning for Holm. It will all come down to fate and who gets into Holm’s ring first, but nabbing the UFC’s women’s bantamweight champion belt from Holly may prove more difficult than either Ronda or Miesha can anticipate. Holly Holm remains undefeated (10-0) and it’s unlikely she’s going to let her guard down anytime soon.

Miesha Tate is on a mission to destroy Ronda Rousey’s dream

While both women have publicly stated that they’re each eager to take the title from Holm, only Tate seems to be taking that assertion seriously. While Ms. Rousey has been busy posing for Sports Illustrated and hitting talk shows, like The Ellen Degeneres Show, Ms. Tate has been training, fighting, and focusing on defeating Holly Holm. As a result of that single-minded determination, Miesha has been offered her shot.

Meanwhile, Rousey has said she would like for Holm to defeat Tate, because she wants to be the one to take the title from Holly.

“If that’s what (Rousey) wants, sorry, but I’m going to ruin that for her,” Tate said. “I would like to see Holly and Ronda fight again, but it just may not be for the belt.”

Tate, who has gone up against Ronda Rousey twice and lost both matches, may want to choose her words more carefully. Should Ronda reclaim her title, Miesha may find herself in the ring with Rousey once more and Ms. Rousey has proven that she has a long memory.

Holly Holm analyzes the differences between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey

Holly remarks that Ronda was a formidable foe, there was never any denying that. She hits harder than Tate and possesses fighting skills that Miesha has never mastered. Rousey is even a former Olympic bronze medal-winner.

So what does Miesha Tate have? She has a raw determination that seems to never waver. The proof of her indomitable spirit was seen, when she bounced back from having Sarah McMann crack her orbital bone.

“She’s gritty,” UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm said on The MMA Hour. “That makes it hard to make a clean fight. It’s hard to control that type of a fight. Her strength is her grittiness, for sure.”

This is why Holly sees Tate as just as big of a threat as Ronda Rousey and that’s why she won’t be holding back when she takes on Miesha in Las Vegas. This is a vital fight for Holm and one she has to win, if for no other reason than it will be her first title defense. To lose her very first fight since winning the belt from Rousey would be a public humiliation that she might not easily overcome.

“Now there’s pressure that I don’t want to be this one-hit wonder,” Holm said. “I want to be able to show another performance. And in a lot of ways, this is a tougher fight for me. A different fight, just tougher in different areas, obviously.”

If Miesha does defeat Holm and win the belt for herself, it could mean that she would soon be the one to face off against two determined challengers. These three fighters may soon find themselves locked in an ongoing struggle, taking the belt from one another over and over again.

Ronda hasn’t specifically said that she would go after Tate, should she defeat Holm, but Rousey has said that there’s nothing else she could (or would want) to do. It seems probable that she’ll go after whoever happens to be holding the title.

[Image by Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images]