Miesha Tate: Holly Holm was 'distracted' Ronda Rousey's 'kryptonite'
Most people didn't think Holly Holm had a chance against Ronda Rousey last month. Miesha Tate was kind of in that same boat.
"It was a pretty shocking victory, honestly," Tate said Friday on Inside MMA. "Holly surprised me. But I think she had the perfect game, she went out there and she executed flawlessly. She looked phenomenal. I'm all about styles make fights and she has the style to beat Ronda. She is Ronda's kryptonite and she executed it perfectly."
Holm, of course, knocked out Rousey in the second round of their main event fight at UFC 193 on Nov. 14 in Melbourne, Australia. The result sent shockwaves through the MMA and pop culture world considering Rousey's vast celebrity.
Many have speculated that everything going on in Rousey's life -- the Hollywood movies and drama inside her camp -- might have played a part in her loss. UFC president Dana White said Rousey told him she was "exhausted" heading into the bout. Tate is not sure what happened.
"Maybe it was everything else with the leadup," Tate said. "I'm now hearing that there's a lot of personal issues. It just seemed like maybe Ronda was distracted a little bit. But I feel like Ronda has always had a lot on her plate. She's always had a lot going on. I don't think it's ever a perfect training situation for anybody going into a fight, especially a title fight. They're longer camps and there's more demand for media and all those things. I think that's just the way Ronda is used to dealing with things. I don't know if there was really anything different this time other than she just didn't seem like herself."
Tate, the second most popular women's fighter in the world after Rousey, was upset that Holm got the title shot and she did not after the UFC promised it to her. "Cupcake" was even saying she could retire if the UFC didn't make things right. She seems to be singing a different tune now. Holm's win "opens up a number of doors," she said. Tate is hoping she can fight Holm for the title while Rousey takes time off filming movies and recovering.
"I think we're probably looking at like a nine-month layoff," Tate said. "I don't think it makes sense to hold up the entire women's division for nine months. I figure if Holly and I fought each other, it's a win-win for the UFC, because if Holly beats me then she's beaten the girl that's, besides her, given Ronda a run for her money. And if I beat Holly, then I'm on a five-fight win streak and I beat the girl that destroyed Ronda."
Tate is not sure the UFC will go for that. She doesn't seem to think it will happen. But she's more hopeful than she has been in a while.
"I think it's gonna be entirely different now and the women's division has been turned upside down," Tate said.