Just like every fan of the former bantamweight champion, Tate is definitely shocked when Holly Holm destroyed Ronda Rousey and became the new MMA women’s bantamweight champion in the UFC. “The Preacher’s Daughter” played the perfect game all throughout the two rounds, ending the bout with a flawless head kick that knocked Rousey out.
It wasn’t only Tate who took this downfall as an opportunity to get back at Rousey when she lost the fight. A lot of famous people like Donald Trump, Lady Gaga, and even 50 Cent, went in and joined the wagon and somehow rejoiced on the former bantamweight champ’s downfall. Tate, however, said that Rousey had these backlashes coming because of her reputation in dealing with all the fame and mind games.
“She’s always portrayed herself as invincible and everybody bought into that so much that nobody was going to beat her, that she was going to retire undefeated and everything that she’s said. You can’t take away what she has done – she’s still an incredible athlete, she was still the longest reigning champion. There were things that this girl has done – like or dislike the girl, you can’t take that away from her.When you make a comment like, ‘I can beat everyone in my division with one arm tied behind my back,’ I guess you should kind of expect that kind of backlash if you get beaten so brutally like she did by Holly. When you make comments like that, you’re asking for people to say, ‘Ha!’ Are you not?’,” Tate said.
A lot of people expected that Rousey would be able to hold on to her bantamweight title belt until she decides to retire, which is likely to happen in a few years. Everything changed when Holm shattered Rousey’s goal and took the belt from her though. With this loss, Rousey is now open to a whole lot of possible bouts, including the one against Tate, since she cannot hide behind her belt anymore. Tate, who is now on a winning streak, can be a great match against Rousey. However, Tate has already lost to the MMA former bantamweight champ twice, so a third fight might be a bit tough to sell.
Dana White, the President of the UFC, revealed right after the fight that a rematch would probably be happen in the future. This statement is quite tough to object to, but Tate answered back and admitted that she believes she also deserves a bout against Holm if incase Rousey will step back and be at the sidelines for a longer period of time.
“Ronda had made the comments before that she would be gone until about UFC 200. I also know when you get a concussion that severe, you’re on medical suspension for a while. It’s not to say I don’t think she doesn’t deserve (a rematch), obviously she was the champion for a really long time, if she wants it there’s a really good argument. But on the other side of it, depending on how long she’s out, I think I have a really strong argument as well. Technically that was supposed to be my title fight and I never fought Holly Holm – and styles make matchups,” Tate said.
