Miesha Tate on losing Ronda Rousey title fight: It 'shot me in the heart'

Miesha Tate

After several weeks of silence, Miesha Tate finally opened up about losing a previously promised opportunity to challenge rival and UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

UFC President Dana White publicly announced Tate (17-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) as the No. 1 contender to Rousey’s (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) title following her unanimous decision victory over Jessica Eye at UFC on FOX 16 in July.

Rousey made her sixth consecutive title defense against Bethe Correia the following week at UFC 190 in Brazil, and White again declared Tate would get a third chance to fight “Rowdy” after two previous submission losses.

The situation took a sudden shift, however, when Holly Holm was announced as the next challenger to Rousey’s belt. The pair is set to fight at UFC 193 in Melbourne on Nov. 14.

Shortly after the news broke, Tate said on social media she was “extremely disappointed” by the turn of events, but did not speak extensively on having the title fight pulled out from under her.

Tate elaborated on her disappointment when she was interviewed on Saturday’s Invicta FC 14 broadcast and explained how she was “hurt” by the way in which the UFC handled the process.

“I found out later than half the world, even, because I was still asleep, I guess, when it was announced. I woke up to about 30 texts on my phone saying, ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ and I was like, ‘What?'” Tate said. “It sucked not finding out from the promotion itself, so I felt a little bit disappointed and my feelings were kind of hurt, to be honest. I was really bummed out because I was really motivated and I really felt like I hit a new level.

“I was training for her already. I didn’t take any time off after my fight and it really kind of shot me in the heart. It was like, ‘Damn. That’s what I thought I was going to get, and that’s what the world thought I was going to get.’ It was a pretty heartbreaking process for me, so I’m not exactly sure what’s next.”

Although the UFC has historically been hesitant to book a third contest between fighters when one side has already registered two victories, Tate had seemingly earned her opportunity with a four-fight winning streak.

Tate suffered her first loss to Rousey under the now-defunct Strikeforce banner in March 2012. She rebounded from her most recent defeat to Rousey, a third-round submission at UFC 168 in December 2013, with victories over Eye, Sara McMann, Rin Nakai and Liz Carmouche.

The UFC on FOX 16 showdown with Eye was promoted as a No. 1 contender bout on the event’s broadcast. Despite the win, however, Tate’s championship opportunity did not come to fruition. The UFC’s president recently explained why.

“We had talked about that fight between Tate and Eye being the next contender fight, but when you really look at a fight, Miesha Tate has lost to her twice,” White said. “Miesha, at this point in her career, if she loses to Ronda Rousey a third time, it’s a career-killer. “I know it seems like Miesha got a bad break in this thing, but realistically when you look at it, Miesha has lost to her twice. Miesha’s going to have to knock a couple more people off to get to Ronda.”

Although Tate has been rumored to face Amanda Nunes for her next bout, “Cupcake” said she’s yet to communicate with the UFC about her future. Tate recently returned from vacation and said the next step is to speak with her management and coaches about the most logical move.

“No, (I’m) definitely not (signed to fight Nunes),” Tate said. “I haven’t talked to the UFC or my coaches or my management about it. … As far as what’s next, I really don’t know I need to get home and talk to my management and my coaches.

For more on the UFC’s schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.