UFC 168 Play-by-Play: Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate

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Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate

Round 1: No touch of gloves in this grudge match.  Rousey takes the center of the cage and they both land shots.  Rousey clinches.  She drags Tate to the ground but Tate rolls and gets back to her feet.  Rousey presses  her against the cage and delivers knees to the legs of Tate.  Take lands a knee to the body and they separate.  Rousey catches a kick and takes Tate down.  Tate looks for a triangle but Rousey elevates her and Tate lets it go.  Tate takes Rousey down.  She works in Rousey’s guard.  Rousey looks to isolate an arm.  She controls Tate’s posture.  She lands punches from the bottom.  Rousey works for a triangle choke.  She lands hammer fists from the bottom.  She lands elbows.  Tate gets free and They’re back standing.  Tate presses forward and lands a left hook.  Rousey fires back.  They both land.  Rousey takes Tate down.  90 seconds remain in the round.  Rousey looks for an arm.  Tate gains top position.  She stands over Rousey.  Rousey rolls back and gets to her feet.  Tate looks for a takedown but Rousey tosses her to the ground.  She lands punches to the body of Tate.  Rousey lets Tate up.  Tate lands a right hand.  Rousey ties her up.  Tate is bleeding from the nose.  Rousey backs off and lands a combination at the bell.  MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Rousey.

Round 2: Tate smiles before the round.  She lands a right hand.  Rousey clinches and trips Tate to the canvas.  Tate lands an up kick and more.  Rousey moves away and Tate gets back to her feet.  Tate looks for a takedown and Rousey tosses her to the ground.  Rousey lets her up.  Rousey takes Tate down again.   Tate rolls to her knees and stands.  Rousey presses her against the cage.  The crowd chants, “Miesha!”  They work for position along the cage.  Rousey lands short right hands followed by a knee to the body.  Rousey throws Tate to the canvas.  He lands in side control.  Tate throws her legs over and they scramble.  Rousey moves to the mount position.  She postures up and lands punches.  Tate tries to hip escape.  Rousey delivers hammer firsts.  Rousey works for the arm bar.  She gets it.  She extends it.  Tate escapes the arm bar attempt.  Rousey delivers hammer firsts.  Rousey applies a reverse triangle choke.  Rousey pounds away at the body.   Tate has a hand in.  Rousey continues to land to the body.  The round ends.  MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Rousey.

Round 3: They meet in the center of the cage.  Rousey lands a combination and presses Tate against the cage.  She lands to the body.  They work for position along the cage.  Rousey takes Tate down but Tate ends up on top.  Rousey isolates an arm.  She extends it and Tate is forced to tap out.  Rousey retains her title.  Tate tries to shake her hand and Rousey walks away.

The official time of the submission was 0:58 of the third round.

QUOTES

Ronda Rousey:
“In judo, I didn’t know what a cheer was, cheers are what’s new. I took the name “Rowdy” after “Rowdy” Roddy Piper because he was such a great showman. I wanted to put on a good show. I respect Miesha very much as a competitor but I can’t respect a fighter who did what she did and I cannot shake her hand because of it. Going more than one round was a good experience. In judo, I had to go five founds. The experience is good, going longer than one round. I needed that experience in the octagon, and as my mom said, better to get it in a win than in a loss. I feel fine. I was much worse off after the Liz Carmouche fight, where she dislocated my jaw. I feel pretty good other than a scratch under my eye. I’m looking forward to a little time off and celebrating Christmas with my family.”

Miesha Tate:
“The fight is still very fresh and it’s difficult to take a morale victory from this. In time I’m sure I’ll see it that way but right now it’s very hard.”

SCORECARD

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