The rivalry between Cupcake and Rowdy ensues. The bitterness is still the same, and as real as it gets. The only difference though, is that Meisha Tate is now the women’s Bantamweight of the world; a title Ronda Rousey once defended against Tate.
While the world expects the two to go to battle for a third time, and the stars have aligned to appear so – Meisha on the other hand, does not believe Ronda will even step in the ring with her.
But why wouldn’t the ‘once considered invincible’, undefeated ex-bantamweight champion want to reclaim her throne?
According to Tate, Rowdy’s reason and meaning to carry on in the sport has been ‘broken’.
Meisha Tate expresses her thoughts on Ronda at the The Jim Rome Show:
“Possibly, (she might not return),” Tate said on the show. “I wouldn’t put it past the situation, just from my observance. But I could be wrong. I don’t know Ronda on a personal level that well, so I may be wrong. But if she is the woman that I step into the cage with next, or at any point, I’ll be ready. I know that about myself because I’ve been forged by this sport time and time again. Mentally, I know I have it.”
She discussed Ronda Rousey’s recent statements on the Ellen DeGeneres show, talking suicide and having babies with UFC Heavyweight Travis Browne after the Holly Holm KO loss.
She continued:
“I’ve been fighting for 10 years,” Tate said. “There are things I can recognize in other athletes. I can recognize greatness – Ronda has greatness. Holly has greatness. I feel like those are things that are similar that we have. What I don’t recognize in Ronda is the will to build herself back up from this breaking point. She hit such a low, and I have not heard her say the things that I would want to hear someone say if they really wanted to come back from something like that.
“I’ve been hearing her say more things like the reason for her sticking around is because she’s in love with Travis (Browne) and she wants to have his babies. That is not something I want to hear – unbiasedly, if I want this woman to come back and be a champion again, what I’m looking to hear is, ‘I’m going to come back better, I’m going to come back stronger, I will be the champion.’ I haven’t heard her say those things, and it really makes me wonder where her mind is at.”
She further explains the Ronda’s ‘mantra’ and how it was broken:
“Is she already off doing movies and ready to have babies and ready to become a mom? Is she ready to walk away from the sport? Has she already done what she’s set out to do?,” Tate wondered. “She’s defeated now. Her whole mantra, her whole career, was based off being undefeated. Now that that hasn’t gone her way, and also I beat Holly – which was another thing that didn’t go her way – it seems like this is a mental downward spiral for her. I just haven’t heard the things that would make me think she’s going to come back better for it. It makes me question it.”
With two wins via signature arm-bar against Tate, there is still no doubt in anyone’s mind that she could pull the third. But Ronda or the UFC have not confirmed a set event or date, officially confirming the ex-champs return.
“I haven’t talked to my management yet,” Tate said. “Everyone around me, all my friends and family, are telling me, ‘Just enjoy the moment. Let’s not rush things. Don’t look ahead – whoever’s next will be next. They’ll be waiting for you.’ I have a huge target on my back now. There’s been a lot of girls calling me out. Amanda Nunes has been calling me out, Cat Zingano has been calling me out, Holly’s been calling me out. Ronda obviously thinks she wants that fight.
“So there’s a lot of tough competition, stiff competition that could come up at any moment. My job is to stay ready as the champion. I’m doing that, and I’m committed to doing that, and whatever comes next will come next and I will be ready for it.”
While busy with extracurricular activity regarding Hollywood, Ronda has expressed her desire to come back. When? We have yet to see.
