Miesha Tate is motivated to bring the fight to 'delusional' Ronda Rousey

Cat--Smasher · 02-06-2012, 08:27 PM

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According to Tate, she's not bothered by the banter. It just adds more fuel to her fire:

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"I don't really listen to much of anything that Ronda says. I don't watch her interviews. I get a little bit of that drift that comes through Twitter. When people say, 'Oh, you know she said this, she said that.' Half the time, I honestly think it just makes her sound like an idiot. I mean, that's just being brutally honest. I think she's pretty delusional. I have yet to see Ronda actually fight. I've seen her go out there and do her Judo and whatnot. But she hasn't ever actually brought a fight and that's what I'm

gonna make her do...fight. Anything that she says is motivation, definitely."

Everyone knows Rousey has ridiculous judo, jiu-jitsu and submission skills. Tate comes from a wrestling background, but she believes it's more than just her wrestling that gives her the edge:

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"That's why this fight makes for an interesting match up, because our strengths are in similar areas. We're both really great on the ground. I have wrestling, she has judo. I also feel like I have the edge on the feet and the experience overall. I've been doing this a lot longer. I feel like I'll be able to put it together better. When it comes to mixing everything and meshing it, it's gonna make for an awesome fight. I think people are really gonna enjoy and be entertained."

On top of what she believes is a skill set advantage, "Takedown" also sees problems for Rousey that will be caused by her having to make the weight cut to 135 pounds; a reduction she's never had to make before in her MMA career:

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"Yeah and not to mention the weight cut. This is her first drop to 135. Also, no pound allowance. That's gonna change her body dynamics, the way she's used to throwing people around, having that weight behind her is gonna change. So it could even affect her in her training camp. The people she used to throw around...she's gonna be smaller. So, a lot of things are gonna be changing for her, this fight. We're gonna see how that works for her. I just wanna frustrate her. Push her outside that minute and make her second guess and make her wish she never wanted to take this fight."

Of course she wants to win for herself and for the sake of successfully defending her recently acquired belt, but she also realizes that this fight is bigger than just her. It's bigger than Ronda Rousey. It's bigger than any of that.

It's about putting WMMA on the map and maybe sending a message to UFC President Dana White in the process:

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"It's a huge opportunity. If the women can deliver, like I believe we're going to, it can say big things for our future -- not only in Strikeforce, but hopefully, eventually in the UFC."

Miesha Tate is motivated to bring the fight to 'delusional' Ronda Rousey - MMAmania.com