WMMA News Roundup: Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano Are “Not Impressed” by Ronda Rousey’s Performance, UFC Adds Four More to Women’s Bantamweight Division
Poor Miesha Tate. It’s bad enough that she nearly had her arm ripped from her torso when she first fought Ronda Rousey, but the fact that she is forced to relive it each and every time a microphone is shoved in front of her face has to leave her feeling somewhat bitter about the whole experience, and perhaps rightfully so.
Take last Saturday for instance, when Tate and her upcoming opponent Cat Zingano — both of whom appeared to be sponsored by either Lucky Charms or Zubaz Pants — were interviewed by Ariel Helwani following Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche’s historic battle at UFC 157. While one would think that Tate would put her personal differences with Ronda aside for a moment and simply congratulate her for the achievement, Tate opted rather to declare that she will “rip [Rousey’s] face off in the rematch.” Um, Miesha, your next opponent is actually the woman who was standing right next to you when you all but wrote her off. Awkward.
In fact, Tate was spilling haterade so vigorously that even Zingano jumped in line for a glass, declaring that Rousey had “a lot of holes in [her] game” after first saying how proud she was of the first WMMA fight in UFC History and blah blah blah. On the opposite end of the spectrum, both Tate and Zingano were impressed by Carmouche’s performance despite the fact that she lost and that they would have totally finished Rousey if put in the same situation.
And fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for Tate or Zingano, it’s looking like the winner of their upcoming fight will be given the opportunity to put her money where her mouth is. During the UFC 157 post-fight show on FUEL TV, Rousey mentioned that she “is interested” in the outcome of the matchup and will be in attendance when Tate and Zingano face off in Vegas on April 13th. So make sure to tune in for the chance to witness the first ever 209 gang-stomping in WMMA History.
In other WMMA news…
According to MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC has recently signed four other fighters to the bereft women’s bantamweight division, and they are…
Sarah Kaufman: 15-2 as a pro, including multiple appearances under the Strikeforce banner and notable victories over Alexis Davis and Liz Carmouche. Last suffered a 54 second armbar defeat at the hands of (shockingly) Ronda Rousey in August of 2012, but is best known for stealing BG’s heart with this photo.
Julie Kedzie: Despite dropping her past two contests to Alexis Davis (via decision) and Miesha Tate (via armbar), “Fireball” will be heading to the UFC as well. Known for her bubbly personality and commentating gig over at Invicta FC, this Jackson’s MMA product is currently 16-11 in professional competition.
Amanda Nunes: Currently 7-3 as a professional, Nunes has competed under the Invicta and Strikeforce banners multiple times and scored one of the quickest, most brutal knockouts in WMMA History (barring pretty much every Veronica Rothenhausler fight, obvs.) when she starched Julia Budd at Strikeforce Challengers 13.
Germaine de Randamie: 3-2, holds a notable victory over former Dominatrix/featherweight title challenger Hiroko Yamanka. Scored a brutal first round KO via knee over Stephanie Webber in her Strikeforce debut back in January of 2011.
The signings of Kaufman and Nunes might seem a little odd considering that they are both scheduled to compete for Invicta in April, but according to Kaufman, being allowed to fight in multiple organizations is a privilege that extends to just the women’s division. TAKE THAT, EQUALITY. Next you’re gonna tell me that they get their own locker rooms.
-J. Jones
