Miesha Tate hoping for third shot vs. Ronda Rousey that may never come

LAS VEGAS – One of the odd things about the fight game is that, despite the many impressive victories, Miesha Tate really vaulted to stardom in the UFC after a pair of losses.

The former Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion dropped a pair of bouts to UFC champion Ronda Rousey, but in those encounters extended Rousey like no other woman has in mixed martial arts.

Tate, No. 2 in the division, faces No. 3 Sara McMann at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday. Given that Rousey will defend her belt on Feb. 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles against No. 1 Cat Zingano, it seems it's a setup to have the winners meet in a mega-match in the summer.

Except.

Rousey has beaten both Tate and McMann, stopping McMann in a little more than a minute at UFC 170. If Zingano were to upset Rousey, a rematch would seem to be in order.

And if Rousey successfully defends her title, UFC president Dana White might not want to go back to either Tate or McMann, no matter how good the winner looks, given that they've already had chances.

"That's a tough one," White said. "This isn't an eliminator because right now, we just don't know. We have to see how the fights go and how everyone else looks. But it's tough [to give one person a third opportunity at the belt] so quickly."

But to get another crack at Rousey, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in judo, Tate needs to get past McMann, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in wrestling.

On the surface, at least, the wrestling credentials would seem to heavily favor McMann over Tate, a four-year high school wrestler. But MMA wrestling, which often dominates fights, is much different than Olympic wrestling, as Tate has preached repeatedly in the two-plus months since the fight was announced.

"It's an interesting style match-up given that she's an Olympic silver medalist in wrestling," Tate told Yahoo Sports. "She's got a great skill set there, but I definitely feel I have more ways to finish the fight. I don't think she's going to be able to put me away with a submission or with her striking, so I think I have the advantage in both those areas.

"A lot of people say, 'Oh, your strength is wrestling and her strength is wrestling and her wrestling is better on paper, credential-wise.' Well, you know, technically that's true, but fighting is not wrestling. And I believe in the old saying, 'Punch a black belt once they go to a brown belt and punch them again and they go to a purple belt.' Well, it's the same thing with wrestling."

McMann's wrestling wasn't a factor against Rousey, though the bout only lasted 66 seconds. As they grappled along the cage, Rousey kneed McMann in the midsection, which sent McMann down. Referee Herb Dean quickly stopped the bout.

McMann wasn't particularly impressive in a split decision win over Lauren Murphy in August, though she was able to control Murphy for long stretches with her wrestling.

But Tate said that fight proved to her that McMann is susceptible to pressure. Tate is an aggressive fighter who likes to push the pace and move forward, so she believes it sets up well for her.

"I definitely think that I have better wrestling than Lauren," Tate said. "I did wrestle for four years in high school. I know I'm not an Olympic medalist or anything, but I have a better grasp on what's happening and how she's going to want to chain wrestle and how to defend those types of things. My striking has improved tremendously.

"The last two girls I fought, all they wanted to do was take it to the ground, and I was able to keep those fights on the feet. Rin Nakai is a really high-level judo player and all she did was try to shoot. She has wrestling, too. So going into a fight with McMann, I feel like I've gotten well prepared by my last two fights and I'm going to keep it rolling. That last fight against Rin helped me a lot in terms of confidence in my striking."

Tate would love another shot at Rousey, but she'll need to do something to catch White's attention given that she's already had two cracks at the champion.

Those two losses, she said, made her a vastly different and, significantly, better fighter.

"Ronda won our first fight and then we came out and I worked on my game and I pushed her and extended her and it was a lot different kind of fight," Tate said. "And after losing that second one, I realized that I still had a ways to go to reach the top of the mountain, so I kept pushing.

"And I'm definitely getting better each time out, so I feel like if I keep doing that and keep winning, I'll eventually get another shot and if I do, I believe I'll be able to get over the hurdle."