Miesha Tate Says A Third Fight With Ronda Rousey ‘Has To Happen’


Current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate is set to fight Amanda Nunes in UFC 200’s co-main-event, and while she’s certainly not looking past Nunes, she badly wants a third fight with the now-former bantamweight champ, Ronda Rousey.

As of right now, it looks like Rousey won’t be returning to the UFC until November, when the company makes their debut in New York at Madison Square Garden. There have been a ton of ideas that have been thrown out around regarding Rousey’s return — some have suggested another fight with Holly Holm, where the winner would become the number one contender for the bantamweight title, and others, including UFC president Dana White, have made the case that Rousey deserves a shot at the title upon her return.

Rousey, who is currently in the middle of shooting a movie, recently signed a three-movie deal with the Lifetime Network. So, there are some, including Miesha Tate, who are questioning if Rousey will ever fight again. But, if she does, the current bantamweight champ wants a third fight with the UFC mega-star.

Tate appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast earlier this week, and she told the UFC color-commentator that she needs to have, and win, a third fight with Ronda Rousey.

https://youtu.be/zEgoztUtDqQ?t=133

“Yeah, [fighting Ronda Rousey again] is important. I need that, it has to happen. That’s very important to me. I have Amanda [Nunes] ahead of me, and I don’t want to look past her, because I think that would be a huge mistake. That’s not one I want to make as a veteran in my career. That would be a rookie move. But, in the back of my mind, of course the fight with Ronda is something that I want to happen.”

Rousey has already beaten Tate twice via submission; once in 2012, and again in 2013. Their 2013 rematch was the first time that a Rousey fight made it out of round 1, as Tate survived until the third round.

During her conversation with Rogan, Tate questioned Rousey’s decision to take time off from fighting to do movies, saying that it doesn’t seem like she’s wanting to get back inside the Octagon ever again.

The UFC did want to put Rousey on this July’s UFC 200 card, but because of her movie obligations, she wasn’t able to accept any fight that the UFC put in front of her.

Miesha Tate UFC 196
[Photo by Rey Del Rio / Getty Images]
After Tate became the new bantamweight champion at UFC 196, Dana White said that he got a text from Rousey, saying “time for me to get back to work.” So, if you’re going off of that text message, it would seem like the former bantamweight champ is eager to get back into the Octagon, and regain the title.

As of right now, Tate is the odds-on favorite at UFC 200. But, Rousey was also a heavy favorite against Holly Holm, and Holm absolutely decimated her at UFC 193.

If Tate and Holm both end up winning their upcoming fights, and Rousey ends up returning, the UFC will have a ton of options for the three women.

As previously mentioned, Rousey could end up fighting either Holly Holm, or get an immediate shot at the bantamweight championship. Another option for Rousey is the long-awaited super-fight with Cris “Cyborg,” who is now a part of the UFC.

Tate and Holm had a fantastic fight back in March, and it’s a rematch that everybody wants to see. If Holm is able to get past Valentina Shevchenko on July 23, then that rematch may end up happening at some point this year, possibly this November in Madison Square Garden.

[Image via Jeff Zelevansky / Getty Images]

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