Miesha Tate will not have the opportunity to revenge his losses against Ronda Rousey, but he may be able to exercise some of those demons through another Olympic level judo.
Tate found “row” once in 2013 with Strike Force Banner and another Octagon, and twice in her career. Tate lost both matches at the armbar and finally climbed to the top of the Bantamweight Mountain, suffocating the fighter who had finished Rousey’s title reign, finishing his unbeaten run four months ago.
It looked like the stars were lined up for the battle in the Tate and Rousey trilogy.
Unfortunately, that never happened.
“Rowdy” suffered a particularly brutal first-round knockout loss against Amanda Nunes, only to fight again in the Octagon, and quit his career in combat sports.
With no chance of red, Lucy’s retirement left a bad taste in Tate’s mouth, but now “cupcakes” may have another opportunity to show what she can do against Judo, the two Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison rafthods the division.
“I desperately wanted to show you how good I could do more than ever against judo,” Tate told MMA Fighting after facing Rousey, an Olympic bronze medalist in judo. “I lost my first two matches with Ronda and didn’t understand it. I have a completely different coaching staff now, and there are people who can really imitate someone who has a judo background when I was facing Ronda.
“I couldn’t find it. I trained with some guys, and the guys weren’t as smooth as Ronda. So there was a lot more about muscular stuff. So, from that moment on, I’m trying to make judo better. I finally feel like I have the tools.
Miesha Tate wants to prove that she can defeat Judo in the octagon
With a big victory over Julia Avila in December 2023, Tate will return to the Octagon this Saturday for a scrapping with Jana Santos at UFC Des Moines. If “Cupcakes” had it in two rows, she could find herself in the top 10 rankings and a very big step closer to a potential clash with Harrison.
“Khela is a very respected judo,” Tate said. “She has the same qualifications as Ronda. She is her own fighter, and her own person. It would not be sweet enough to prove these two losses to Ronda, but it would be a great second and I would take it.
“I take pride in people that you say you know what. I think Misha is right. She can back up what she said, she learns a lot about judo. She was able to defeat Kela Harrison.
Two-time PFL champion Harrison will try to add UFC gold to her collection when she challenges bantamweight queen Julianna Pena at UFC 316 on June 7th.