UFC
UFC 183's Miesha Tate believes she still has the best shot at defeating Champ Ronda Rousey
Jan 30, 2015 - 2:35:02 PM UFC 183's Miesha Tate believes she still has the best shot at defeating Champ Ronda Rousey

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Miesha Tate is trying to fight her way back to another title fight in the women's 135 lb. division in the UFC, and if she beats Sara McMann at UFC 183 on Saturday night, she hopes to be back in line for that shot.

In an interview with FoxSports.com this week, Tate said she feels a Cat Zingano win over Ronda Rousey at UFC 184 will make it more likely for her to get that shot, but she still believes herself to be the biggest challenge for Rousey in the division.

"I have a lot of vested interest in that fight and I really have mixed feelings about who I would prefer to win," Tate said of Rousey-Zingano. "I think if Zingano beats Rousey, it's a much faster road to the title for myself so there's a benefit there for me. The fact that our first fight had a lot of fireworks to it - it was a very exciting fight. I won the first two rounds and I just feel it was stopped too quickly in the third round, but it is what it is. If Cat wins, there's a big argument why I would get the next title shot."

"... "If Ronda wins, she's beating all the other girls, so all I have to do is ward off the other No. 1 contenders like I have been. I think I have the best shot at beating her and I think I've proven that going into the third round with her. Regardless, it's always fun for me to fight Ronda. I enjoy it, I thrive on it, because my No. 1 goal is to become the best fighter that I can be and Ronda always pushes me to do that."

Penick's Analysis: If Tate continues to win fights, she'll probably wind up back in another title bout, if only for the fact that the division is still relatively thin. There are others ahead of her right now, but beating McMann will keep her afloat. Depending on who the UFC has her face after McMann, a Rousey rematch could certainly happen eventually, but I don't think she sees a title fight before mid-2016.