Miesha Tate knows he can’t get the chance to get a chance to revenge accurately against his past losses to Ronda Rousey, so ultimately seeking a fight with Kela Harrison might be the next best thing to do.
Considered one of the most fierce competitions in the history of sports, Tate fell to Rousey twice in 2013 in his final encounter. Tate knocked out Rousey to win the UFC title.
It clearly left a sour taste in Tate’s mouth, but she may have the opportunity to compete against another fighter with a similar skill set, as two-time Olympic judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison is in the UFC.
“I desperately wanted to show you how good I could do more than ever for 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. There are people who can really imitate someone who has a judo background when I was facing Ronda. Ronda.
“So, since that moment I’ve been trying to do much better things (I’m judo) and I feel like I finally have the tools, so I think it’s great to fight Kayla Harrison, even if it’s not a title fight.”
Returning to action against Jana Santos in the upcoming UFC Des Moines card in May, Tate reveals that unlike his passionate encounter with Rousey, there is absolutely nothing to do with his desire to fight Harrison.
Of course, she also understands that Harrison is not the same kind of fighter as Rousey, but comes from almost the same background in judo and tends to make enemies on the ground at least the enemy of the mall.
That’s why Tate wants an opportunity to test himself against Harrison and perhaps drive some of those Rousey’s demons off the middle.
“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.
While Tate is scheduled for May, Harrison will get her first crack by becoming a UFC champion when he faces Juliana Pena in the co-main event at UFC 316 in June. Tate clearly intends to pay attention to that matchup, not only because she has been friends with Pena for many years, but also because she is interested in returning to the title race.
“I’m excited to see what happens between these two. I might just call for it,” Tate said of the possibility of challenging the winner. “I think it’s okay. I think I got it.”