Ronda Rousey hasn’t fought since losing her UFC women’s bantamweight title and undefeated record in a stunning upset loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 last year.
She won’t have to wait long for a shot at reclaiming the title, but current champion Miesha Tate, fresh off her title-winning upset over Holm, doesn’t seem convinced Rousey is up for the challenge.
“What about Ronda’s mentality? I think Ronda is beating herself up over this,” Tate said during a recent radio appearance on FOX Sports’ “The Jay Mohr Show.” “I mean, she’s obviously said that she’s so emotional to the point where she’s considering crazy things, and it’s like this is a broken woman.
“I don’t know if she’ll ever come back the same, but I have proven that I can come back from adversity and I do come back and I will come back and there’s no one in this sport that can break me. I have the strongest mindset of anybody in there, and I don’t know where Ronda’s at with her mindset, but I have to wonder. I have to wonder is she ever going to come back the same?”
Tate has lost twice to Rousey, and one of them came in UFC competition, a December 2013 loss at UFC 168.
There’s no question that Tate is at the height of her powers, but a matchup with Rousey would be incredibly difficult.
Sure, Rousey has stayed out of the spotlight and needed surgery following her loss to Holm, but she absolutely dominated the bantamweight division before the Holm fight. Many of her fights lasted just one round, some of which ended in less than 30 seconds.
Tate vs. Rousey III will be awesome, but it’s foolish to suggest either fighter has an overwhelming advantage. The matchup has never been this close at any points in their careers.
Thumbnail photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports Images
