UFC
Ronda Rousey explains why she thinks third Miesha Tate fight still one of her "greatest challenges"
Aug 3, 2015 - 5:55:03 PM Ronda Rousey explains why she thinks third Miesha Tate fight still one of her "greatest challenges"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Ronda Rousey has won her last four fights in a combined two minutes and ten seconds, and the UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion is now expected to take on a familiar foe in Miesha Tate.

However, despite the fact that she's defeated Tate twice already, Rousey sees her as a significant challenge, and made an argument for why during the UFC 190 post-fight press conference.

For Rousey, the fact that Tate has survived in the cage with her longer than any of her other opponents means that there are no surprises. Tate has more cage time with Rousey than the rest of Rousey's opponents combined, and the Champ believes that gives her something to build upon.

"I think one advantage I do have against a lot of my opponents is they don't really know what they're getting into when they come in there," Rousey said (transcribed by FoxSports.com). "They can watch as much footage as they want, but they don't know what it's actually like to be in there with me.

"That's why I think Miesha's one of my greatest challenges because she already has an idea of what she's getting in there with. I know I've improved a lot since the last time we fought but I don't have that element of surprise and I know she'll bring in something different every single time. So I'm eager to see what she comes up with this time."

Penick's Analysis: It's an interesting argument, and clearly Tate has proven herself to be an extremely tough competitor who is not the easiest to put away. Still, it doesn't seem likely that Tate's going to find a way to beat Rousey in this third fight. She looked very good against Jessica Eye, but while her power has improved, she allowed herself to get hit far too often, and wasn't at all challenged on the ground. So while she's added some new wrinkles to her game, Rousey's been getting better herself, and this one's unlikely to have a more positive end for Tate than the first two matchups.