Although Miesha Tate was publicly announced as the next opponent to Ronda Rousey’s UFC Bantamweight Championship following Rousey’s devastating 34-second knockout of Bethe Correia in Brazil only to find out that she was passed over for the next title shot, as UFC gave the fight to Holly Holm instead, it turns out “Cupcake” Tate is further away from another title shot than anyone thought.
UFC President Dana White announced on this week’s edition of UFC Tonight on FOX Sports 1 that Tate has to “knock a couple more people off to get Ronda.”
Tate was considered the number one contender in the division after her unanimous decision victory over Jessica Eye in July, however White claims that because she has lot to Rousey twice, she’s going to really have to prove that she’s worthy of another shot.
“We had talked about that fight between Tate and Eye being the next contender fight, but when you really look at a fight, Miesha Tate has lost to her twice. She’s lost to Ronda twice,” White said.
From there, White went into promoter-mode, explaining why Holm is getting the next shot over Tate, and why she is a worthy challenger to Rousey’s title.
“Holly Holm is 9-0 in mixed martial arts,” said White. “If you look at the range, the distance, the head kicks, all the attributes. We originally brought Holly Holm into the UFC to fight Ronda Rousey. That fight makes sense. Miesha, at this point in her career, if she loses to Ronda Rousey a third time, it’s a career-killer.”
White continued, “I know it seems like Miesha got a bad break in this thing, but realistically when you look at it, Miesha has lost to her twice. Miesha’s going to have to knock a couple more people off to get to Ronda.”
Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm for the UFC’s 135-pound women’s title is scheduled for UFC 193 on November 14, 2015 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
