Miesha Tate Says Her Rivalry With Ronda Rousey Was ‘Very Real’

Miesha Tate is a former UFC’s bantamweight champion and one of the most popular UFC women fighters of the era. Tate became the UFC champion after she defeated Holly Holm at UFC 196. Throughout her MMA career, Tate shared a rivalry with fellow UFC fighter Ronda Rousey.

‘Cupcake’ and Rousey faced each other twice. Their first fight happened at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey back on March 3, 2012. Rousey won that fight via first-round Technical submission. More than a year later, the pair faced each other again, this time in the UFC.

Tate and Rousey competed at the UFC 168 event on December 28, 2013. ‘Rowdy’ won the fight this time as well, as she stopped ‘Cupcake’ in the third round via submission. They also chose the two fighters as coaches for The Ultimate fighter 18. During a recent ‘Run it back’ session Tate spoke about the same and her rivalry with Rousey.

She said, “Ronda was kind of set-up that you know she was still going to be coaching against Cat Zingano. And Dana had it all planned out like I was gonna walk in and just totally surprise her. Which I think I did.”

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“So the rivalry between Ronda and I was very real, and I felt like I understood it differently than a lot of the fans and the way the media had covered it up to that point. But I think this kind of shed a lot of light. Being on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ with her showed a kind of day in, day out dynamic. And what it was like, people for to be able to see inside of our rivalry.”

What’s next for Miesha Tate?

After losing two consecutive fights back in 2016, Miesha Tate stepped away from the UFC to concentrate on her family. However now ‘Cupcake’ is all set to return to the Octagon and will face Marion Reneau on July 17, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 26.

Tate will enter this fight as the slight favorite even though she has been away from the Octagon for almost 5 years. Her opponent is 44 years old and has lost her last 4 fights. Therefore, many expect ‘Cupcake’ to be victorious on her UFC return.

What do you think, will Miesha Tate defeat Marion Reneau on her UFC return? Let us know in the comments below.

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