Miesha: Rousey mentally beat herself up
Miesha Tate: “I think she mentally beat herself up after not being able to do that in the first round. Hey it’s OK, you have 20 more minutes, like, relax for a second.”
Ronda Rousey beat Miesha Tate and Holly Holm beat Ronda Rousey, but one of the oldest rules in combat sports is that styles make fights. In an interview with Damon Martin for FOX Sports, Tate explains why she is going to beat Holm, and why Rousey beat herself.
“I think Ronda went into that fight with Holly thinking, ‘If I don’t finish this girl in under two minutes, I’m already a failure,'” said Tate. “And she went in there with such desperation to get a quick finish — she had 25 minutes to get that fight to the ground and submit Holly. I think Ronda is capable of that, but I think she mentally beat herself up after not being able to do that in the first round. Hey it’s OK, you have 20 more minutes, like, relax for a second.”
“She just went out there like a charging bull in a china shop and she allowed Holly to play the perfect game plan. Holly was the matador, Ronda was the bull. The bull fell victim.”
“I’m not like Ronda at all in my fighting style. I present different challenges and I have a lot more ring experience and I’ve been battle tested. I’m definitely a battle-tested veteran. I know I can take a punch to give a punch and I don’t fear the clock.”
“I don’t care if it takes me 24 minutes and 59 seconds to win that fight, I will be in it to win it. I will be patient when I need to be patient, I will be explosive when I need to be explosive. I will be calculated and precise and I will do exactly what I need to do to win this fight.”
Miesha Tate fights UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm on March 5 at UFC 196: Dos Anjos vs. McGregor in Las Vegas, Nevada.
