Miesha Tate Set for Potential Third Fight with Ronda Rousey

Miesha Tate will once again get the next shot at the UFC women’s bantamweight title, UFC president Dana White said on Saturday.

White made the announcement at the UFC on FOX 16 post-fight press conference to match Tate with the winner of next Saturday’s UFC 190 pay-per-view between champion Ronda Rousey and challenger Bethe Correia.

“Miesha is such a durable human being,” White said. “She has worked her way back to Ronda Rousey.”

RELATED VIDEO > UFC on FOX 16 Fight Highlights: Miesha Tate vs. Jessica Eye

Tate went the distance and topped Jessica Eye at UFC on FOX 16, showing that she has power in her hands in knocking down her opponent and nearly finishing her after a massive right hand. She won the fight by unanimous decision.

The win set her up for what many feel will be a third fight with Rousey because the champion is so heavily favored to beat Correia next week. Tate said Correia, like anyone, has a chance to beat Rousey, but picked the champ to win because of the strength of past opponents.

According to Tate, Correia is walking into a tougher fight than she expects.

“I just feel like [Correia is] biting off a little more than she can chew,” she said.

Rousey and Tate have squared off two times before. In each contest, Rousey finished Tate by armbar and made the wins look fairly easy.

To her credit, Tate has lasted the longest out of all opponents that have faced the current UFC women’s bantamweight champion, taking her into the third round in their December 2o13 bout.

Despite the losses and Rousey’s dominance of the division, Tate explained that she’s always prepared to take on someone of her caliber. For Tate, there’s a motivating factor behind getting a title shot, especially if it’s against Rousey.

“I’m always ready,” she said. “I love punching Ronda in the face.”

Follow Erik Fontanez on Twitter: @Nahmles 

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