Miesha Tate Questions Readiness of Ronda Rousey for First Title Defense

Miesha Tate is still trying to let her UFC 196 triumph sink in. It was a shock win that saw Holly Holm’s title reign end abruptly.

To recall, Tate used a rear-naked choke on the former boxer in the fifth round that left Holm unconscious. With that feat, “Cupcake” has rocked UFC's plan on a Holm vs. Rousey II, which seemed to be imminently set for later this year.

However, UFC president Dana White is inclined to push his prized star, Ronda Rousey, back into action, hinting at a possible third clash between Tate and Rousey.

Holm Wants a Rematch at UFC 200

Right now, that remains to be seen, especially after Holm was sending feelers through her Instagram account that she wanted a rematch against Tate at UFC 200.

Holm was expected to ask for one being the former champion. It is no different from the call of Jose Aldo, who popped up when the UFC leaned on Frankie Edgar as Conor McGregor’s first opponent for the UFC featherweight title.

While the practice seems fair, the fact remains that it may all depend on one person -- Rousey.

Tate Doubts Rousey Is Ready

Touching on the topic of a possible trilogy with Rousey, Tate finds the setup a bit questionable. She digs into the previous statement made by Rousey at the "Ellen DeGeneres Show," where she admitted considering suicide. However, the thought of Travis Browne and having his babies prevented Rousey from doing so.

"I don't even know what [Ronda] is thinking right now ... it seems like her motivation to stick around was to have Travis Browne's baby. So, I don't know," said Tate to TMZ recently.

Rousey wasn’t around to witness that triumph of Tate, someone who “Rowdy” has defeated twice in the past. The only thing Tate had to brag about before UFC 196 was that she lasted more than one round against Rousey.

All that became irrelevant when Holm not only lasted one round but defeated Rousey as well via knockout in the second round.

Tate an Underdog Against Rousey

Despite her conquest, it seems like sports bookies were not impressed enough with Tate’s performance. This was after sportsbooks have installed Rousey as a -475 favorite over Tate who is +350 if ever the two would face off for the third time.

To illustrate, this means that a $100 bet on Rousey would return only $21.05 compared to a $350 return when placed on Tate. Regardless, Tate is unfazed and believes that she has improved since the last time she and Rousey faced off at UFC 168.

"From that fight that I fought Ronda, I still had really wild, kind of flinging hooks. I let Ronda come right into that clinch. [I was punching] so wide and open and nothing down in the middle," Tate said.