It's on! 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey, the most dominant women's mixed martial arts fighter in the world has called for a third-straight battle with long-time rival Miesha Tate.
UFC fans all around the world had been waiting with bated breath for the final chapter of the 'Rousey vs Tate' rivalry, and probably they are about to get to see it happen soon after UFC 190.
Although UFC President Dana White hasn't commented yet on the scheduled date, it is expected that the fight will take place within the coming months.
"If she's the best competitor and she's who the fans want to see then, yeah, I'm extremely interested in doing it," Rousey – the current UFC women's bantamweight champion of the world –said.
Respect is something that has never been shown from either end when the two iron ladies faced twice previously, but Ronda has changed her opinion on Tate, it seems, after the latter's unanimous decision victory over Jessica Eye in UFC on FOX 16 last weekend.
"She's a great competitor and athlete. I've always said there's amazing things about her as a fighter," Ronda, 28, continued.
The Beijing 2008 Olympics medallist also stated that the fight is going to be her last with 'Cupcake' Miesha, and she is willing to step into the Octagon against her for the third-straight time, just for the fans.
"There's fan interest, so there's my interest," Rousey said. "I'm interested in defending my title as many times as I need to before I feel like I'm done. If she's the best competitor and she's who the fans want to see, then I'm extremely interested in doing it."
White named Miesha the No 1 contender for the women's bantamweight title after her dominant win over Eye last Saturday, and what the 46-year-old businessman said after that was lapped up by all the UFC fans – "She did it again tonight. She has worked her way back to Ronda Rousey."
March 2012 and December 2013 have stayed as red-letter days in the MMA calendar as the two beauties engaged in wars at the Octagon. While the first battle was at Strikeforce, the second one took place at UFC 168.
The armbar queen Rousey stayed the last woman standing on both occasions after her precision 'juji-gatame' (judoka term for the armbar) earned her submission victories in both fights.
For now, however, Ronda has to concentrate on getting another dominant victory over Bethe Correia this Saturday (1 August) at Rio de Janeiro, in the UFC 190 main event.
And both can prepare for the war that is coming in the women's UFC division, following Saturday's event .
"She [Ronda] doesn't like to be hit and I need to be able to deliver that finishing power on the feet," a confident Miesha had said after her win last Saturday.
And confidence is something she has to count on this time as she gets ready to take on her nemesis sometime in the coming months.
