Rousey looks forward to trilogy fight vs. Tate

Undisputed UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is already thinking of her upcoming trilogy fight against top contender Miesha Tate, even as she was still relishing another stunning knockout victory.

Rousey underscored her dominance of the division with a brutal 34-second knockout of Brazilian challenger Bethe Correia in the main event of UFC 190, and immediately looked forward to another showdown against Tate.

Tate remains the only fighter who has lasted more than a round against Rousey: When they fought at UFC 168 in 2013, Tate made it to the third round before submitting to an armbar. In their first fight, in 2012, Rousey submitted her in the first round – also via armbar – to win the women's Strikeforce belt.


"They can watch as much"Every fight is a challenge. This fight was a challenge in its own, and I think one advantage that I do have over my opponents is they don't really know what they're coming into when they get in there," Rousey said, as quoted by MMA Fighting, in the post-fight press conference.
 footage as they like, but they don't know what it's like to be in there with me," she added.

This element of surprise is gone with Tate, as they have already fought twice before.

"She already has an idea of what she's getting in there with," Rousey said, although she quickly added: "I know I've improved a lot since the last time we fought."

Since beating Tate in 2013, Rousey has won four straight fights with a combined time of two minutes and 10 seconds. It took her a minute and six seconds to knock out Sara McMann at UFC 170, and then crushed Alexis Davis in 16 seconds at UFC 175.

Rousey memorably submitted Cat Zingano in only 14 seconds – a UFC record – at UFC 184, then took a little longer to put Correia away.

Like Rousey, Tate has also won four straight fights since their last encounter, most recently out-pointing Jessica Eye to become the number one contender for the title once more.

Tate was quick to comment on Rousey's victory against Correia, posting on Instagram: "Guaranteed she won't do this to me."



"I know she'll bring in something different every single time," Rousey said of Tate. "I'm eager to see what she comes up with this time."

The UFC has not yet set a date and venue for the Rousey-Tate trilogy fight, although there are reports that it can be held later this year on the same card as the featherweight title showdown between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor.

UFC president Dana White said that star-studded fight card may take place at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas this December.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Rousey's coach welcomes trilogy bout vs. Tate

The coach of UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is open to a trilogy fight against top contender Miesha Tate, claiming that "Rowdy" was not at her peak form during their first two fights.

Rousey has beaten Tate twice already. In March 2012, she submitted Tate via armbar in the first round to take the Strikeforce women's bantamweight championship. In their December 2013 rematch at UFC 168, Tate lasted until the third round before getting submitted, again via armbar.

To date, Tate remains the only fighter who has gotten past the first round against Rousey. She has also won four consecutive matches since her loss at UFC 168, including a unanimous decision against Jessica Eye last weekend that propelled her back to title contention.

"I think she does deserve the title shot again," said Rousey's trainer, Edmond Tarverdyan, in an interview with MMA Fighting. "And we're ready."

"I like that fight. I do like that fight, because she's still talking crap a little bit and she thinks making it into the third round with Ronda, she thinks she can do better now and go for a decision or something like that," he added.

"She's mistaken, and we'll be ready for that fight."

Rousey still has to take care of Bethe Correia, against whom she is defending the UFC women's bantamweight belt this weekend in Brazil, but the champion is confident of victory and is already looking forward to fighting Tate again.

"Here's pretty much the plan. I'm going to beat up Bethe, then I'm going to take a couple of weeks to rest, and then I'm going to beat up Miesha, and then I'm going to go like Thailand, or wherever we decide to film, and prep for like a month, and then start filming for like eight to 10 weeks, and then go beat up the next chick," Rousey told Fox Sports in an interview ahead of UFC 190.

Tarverdyan said that if and when Rousey fights Tate again, he is going to make sure that the champion is in her best form.

According to the trainer, Rousey was sick ahead of her first fight with Tate, and did only 40 days of hard training for their rematch.

"She's just a lucky girl because of that. This time, it's going to be a totally different fight," Tarverdyan said. "Ronda's improvement is just going to be too much. This girl (Tate) is gonna get hurt in there."

"She's not gonna know where she is. This time, she's not gonna know where she is, for sure," he added.

"I'm going to make sure that Miesha Tate gets really punished and knows what she's getting into. It's not gonna be good for her career. She's gonna get a lot of damage, and I'm gonna make sure it's not healthy for her career," Tarverdyan also said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com