It was somewhat of a shock when Miesha Tate announced her retirement after losing to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205, but the fan favorite plans to take on a different role within the company.
Tate, who hopes to secure a broadcasting position with FOX, analysed the upcoming fight between Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey, which sees ‘Rowdy’ return to the cage for the first time since her knockout loss to Holly Holm last year.
Tate, who has a notable history with Rousey — both women strongly disliked each other and Rousey beat her in Strikeforce and the UFC — isn’t sure if the former bantamweight champion is mentally prepared for the fight.
“I guess what’s really difficult for me to decide is what we’re going to get out of Rousey,” Tate told MMA Junkie at a recent media scrum in Melbourne, Australia. “Is she doing it because she wants to or is she doing it before she feels obligated? Is that knockout going to be in the back of her mind? Is she going to be punch shy? It’s kind of like – I remember when I went skiing for the first time, I was like 5 years old and I just blitzed down the hill. I had no fear. The first time that I wrecked really, really hard is when I realized this is actually dangerous … so you kind of wonder what has that put in the back of her mind?”
Recent reports also indicate that Rousey had to be consoled backstage after her UFC 205 staredown with Nunes. The former Olympian stormed off stage and refused to give an interview, but UFC president Dana White said she didn’t know there was a scheduled interview.
‘Cupcake’ is rooting for Nunes to win, perhaps hinting that she’s still on less that good terms with Rousey.
“I know that Amanda is a very solid fighter and she hits like a ton of bricks,” Tate said. “She’s a very worthy opponent. It should be interesting. … I want Amanda to win. She’s a sweetheart and a good girl. I think she deserves it.”
The women’s bantamweight championship tilt between Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey will feature as the headlining bout for UFC 207. The pay-per-view will take place on December 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
