The UFC’s new woman’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate has a long standing rivalry with Ronda Rousey and it looks like that’s set to continue judging by her latest comments during a TMZ interview yesterday.
Tate, who’s lost to Rousey twice before, was asked during the segment whether she’d be interested in fighting her for a third time now that she’s the champion.
The 29 year-old confirmed that she would, pointing out that she had in fact been training to fighter her last year before the UFC decided to give Holly Holm that opportunity instead.
However, Tate then took a verbal jab at Rousey by suggesting that her rivals priorities have changed and she’s no longer 100% committed to the fight game.
“I don’t even know what [Ronda] is thinking right now … it seems like her motivation to stick around was to have Travis Browne’s baby. So, I don’t know,” Tate said.
Tate is referring to an interview Rousey had on ‘Ellen’ earlier this year in which the former champion admitted that after she lost her title to Holm at UFC 193 back in November she’d considered suicide, but then looked up at Browne and thought, “No, I have to have his babies.”
According to Tate that doesn’t sound like the kind of mentality you should have if you want to be a champion again.
“That doesn’t sound like a motivated comeback fighter in my opinion,” Tate said. “Every time I’ve ever lost my motivation is to get back up on the horse and fight someone again and work my way back to the top.”
A trilogy fight with Rousey could well be on the cards next for Tate though, at least according to Dana White who admitted that was looking like the bout to make.
However, like Holm before her, Tate appears to be eager to get back into the Octagon and defend her title rather than wait around for Rousey’s return.
“I know that Ronda’s not really slated to come until around November and that’s kind of a long time to just sit and be idle. Now that I’m the champion I feel like I have unlimited energy.”
Watch full highlights from the TMZ Sports interview below.
