Some fights should really be win or go home. Both Liz Carmouche and Miesha Tate have interesting stories, but sports should require you to win to stay relevant.
The loser of Saturday's women's bantamweight clash at UFC on Fox 11 deserves to be released from the roster. That said, the division is still in its infancy, so it probably won't happen.
It's odd that this bout is even as high on the card as it is. Per UFC.com, it's listed as the fight right before the main event, which is typically reserved for the co-main event.
Is that what this is? Really?
In reality, neither woman has ever won anything of note in the UFC. As a matter of fact, Tate hasn't won a fight at all since coming to the promotion.
She submitted in the latest chapter of her rivalry—if you want to call it that—with Ronda Rousey in December 2013. Before that, Cat Zingano stopped her with an uncomfortable amount of knees to the face in April 2013.
Carmouche hasn't been much better.
Rousey made Carmouche say uncle in the first-ever women's UFC fight in February 2013, and she was out-pointed by Alexis Davis in November 2013. The Girl-Rilla did, however, manage to sandwich in a win over Jessica Andrade.
Because of that win, Carmouche's situation isn't quite as dire as Tate's. To her credit, she still seems hungry for another shot at the title. Per Mike Bohn of USA Today, Carmouche said:
"I'm looking to climb back up the ladder quickly. I hope they keep putting me back in there against the top females so I can get to a place where I'm situated to get another title shot."
The question is, how many more losses can Tate absorb before she's not referred to as a "top female" any longer?
Dale De Souza of MMA Corner writes:
One can argue that Tate stands to lose more than Carmouche, especially with a knockout, submission or lopsided decision loss. It becomes tough to really wrap our minds around it, but Tate has yet to win in the UFC. That one win in her aforementioned recent 1-2 run came in 2012 against Julie Kedzie under the Strikeforce banner. To say that Tate’s back stands against the wall is a tremendous understatement, if there ever was one.
In either case, as more female fighters begin to make their way to the UFC, it makes less sense to maintain the presence of those who haven't proven themselves to be great—or even good.
Keeping the women's bantamweight division—or any other weight class—filled with fighters with losing records in the promotion only downgrades the value of the title.
Rousey has beaten everyone there is to beat thus far, but if her fallen opponents keep stacking losses, one could question how impressive Rousey's spotless record is.
The numbers don't align properly for this to be a true fight-for-your-UFC-life match, but it should be.
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