Miesha Tate earns potential Ronda Rousey trilogy fight with win over Jessica Eye
CHICAGO – Miesha Tate has already fought and lost to UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey on two occasions.
And after a gritty performance against Jessica Eye at Saturday’s UFC on FOX, “Cupcake” is once again eyeing down a fight against the world’s most dominant female fighter.
This goes without saying that Rousey must get past Brazilian Bethe Correia at UFC 190 in a week, but when you’re a fighter like Rousey – who evokes visions of a dominant prime 80’s Mike Tyson — it can be quite easy looking for the ‘next’ challenge.
And Tate is seemingly very ready for the challenge to conquer Rousey once again.
The fight with Eye was a battle from the opening frame. Before the first 60 seconds had concluded, Tate was already bloodied from the sneaky jabs of Eye.
Tate weathered the early storm from the Cleveland native and showed improved — and patient – striking.
Tate’s finest moment came midway into the second round when she clipped Eye with a looping over-hand right that sent her opponent reeling to the canvas. It wasn’t a textbook display of overwhelming technique, but it got the job done and Tate quickly followed up with punches on the ground.
Eventually Tate ended up in side control, finishing the round in total control.
The pace slowed in the third, but Tate ended strong with a flurry of loopy combos and did enough to sway the judges and in the process earn the unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
“It felt good to drop her,” Tate said. “Honestly, I’m mad I didn’t finish her, but it’s the best I’ve ever felt going three rounds. I did a new strength training regimen and I felt so strong and I was in such good shape for the fight. I was able to recover in between rounds and I felt awesome. A little disappointed to not get the finish. I wanted to show I had the power in my hands to knock anyone out. I think I proved that tonight. I dropped her a couple of times, and if I would’ve kept a little more space on the ground and kept punching her, I would’ve got the finish but my grappling nature kicked in. She’s a really tough girl, hats off to her.”
The win marks Tate’s fourth consecutive victory and if Rousey isn’t in her direct future, a potential No. 1 contender fight with the soon-to-be-arriving Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino could be on tap. However, it still seems like a long shot that the UFC would risk a potential Cyborg vs. Rousey matchup by pairing Justino with Tate first.
UFC president Dana White said the winner of Eye vs. Tate would be next for Rousey, so whether fans wanted to view this one-sided rivalry again, they may not have a choice.
It is important to note that Rousey has finished her last two fights in a combined 30 seconds. However, in their last meeting, Tate was able to last longer than any Rousey opponent, making it all the way into the third round before succumbing to a fight-ending armbar.
So, if anyone is going to offer Rousey a challenge in 2015, it might just be Tate.
Probably not, though.
