Caraway suggests Nunes should be first for Miesha Tate, Rousey vs. Holm winner next

UFC bantamweight Bryan Caraway thinks Ronda Rousey should have to work her way back to a title shot against his longtime girlfriend and newly minted women’s bantamweight champ Miesha Tate.

“If we just keep the cycle of Ronda always in the mix, it’s not really fair for these other girls who put together a win streak and get pushed aside,” Caraway told MMAjunkie.

After Tate (18-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) choked out Holly Holm (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at this past Saturday’s UFC 196, Caraway favors a fight with Amanda Nunes, who picked up her third straight win in the women’s bantamweight division on the pay-per-view card at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“Nunes is on a three-fight win streak and is looking super tough,” Caraway said. “She finished Sara McMann. She absolutely deserves that.”

It appears the UFC is going a different direction. UFC President Dana White said it was always the plan to match the winner of this past Saturday’s headliner against Rousey (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) when she returned from a layoff in the wake of her knockout loss to Holm this past November.

Although the fight is not confirmed, betting lines already favor Rousey, who twice previously beat Tate – once under the now-defunct Strikeforce banner and three years ago in the UFC.

Caraway expressed surprise the promotion didn’t consider its options before targeting the trilogy fight; the ex-champ reportedly told White she would be getting back to work soon after the title again shifted hands.

“I don’t think (Rousey) should come back and fight Miesha right away,” Caraway said. “I think she should fight Holly again. It doesn’t matter if Ronda beat Miesha back in the day. It’s a new age now; Miesha’s the world champion now. You can clearly see she’s a different fighter, and I think Ronda should have to beat Holly to get a shot at the belt, or a Holly rematch.”

In a recent interview, Holm asked Tate to give her an immediate rematch after falling short in the fifth round of their title fight, arguing Tate should return the favor after she offered the opportunity of a title shot at UFC 196.

But Caraway said Holm is being misleading because the headliner was put together by the UFC after Rousey’s anticipated return at July’s UFC 200 was delayed and Tate, then holding a four-fight win streak, was the rightful No. 1 contender.

“Basically, Ronda was pulling the strings,” Caraway said. “The people who pull the strings in the UFC are Dana White, Conor McGregor, and Ronda. They get to make choices; they get to matchmake and decide what happens and Ronda is the one who chose that path.

“If Ronda says I’m not going to fight for a long time, then it will be up to the UFC. It will either be a Holly rematch, or Amanda Nunes. We’re down to fight anyone.”

Caraway shares Tate’s recent skepticism that Rousey will be returning to action sooner than later, also citing a recent interview in which the MMA star said she contemplated suicide after her loss.

“She sounds pretty broken and she didn’t even want to talk about Holly, and I just feel bad for her, because it’s kind of sad,” he said. “She’s been such a talented athlete and so phenomenal, and losing one fight and she’s that mentally weak and she talks about suicide when every fighter in the game has lost and will lose at some point.

“To hear her say that, I feel bad for her. She must have some serious problems to be talking about that and wanting to quit. That’s not the heart of a champion; that’s someone who has some mental and emotional problems, than just being depressed.”

Most MMA longtime fans will cast a skeptical eye on Caraway’s opinion, given his rocky past with Rousey. The UFC bantamweight came under fire when, in the midst of a spat with a fan on Twitter, he infamously wrote he would knock Rousey’s teeth down her throat and “break her arm!” That set off a war of words in the media, but Caraway maintains he was never really angry at Rousey.

“She’s obviously very talented, a super-talented athlete,” he said. “I’m just quoting what she said. I genuinely do feel bad for her. It seems like she has a lot of demons, and I hope she gets some counseling.”

In the meantime, he said, the most fair course of action for Tate’s career would be to move on while Rousey and Holm stage a rematch.

“Maybe Miesha will fight Amanda Nunes, and Holly can fight Ronda, and the winner of each will fight each other for the title,” Caraway said.

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