Miesha Tate welcomes Holly Holm at UFC 300: ‘Pisses me off’ people think first fight was comeback
Miesha Tate never liked the narrative that emerged from her UFC 196 title win over Holly Holm, and she’s reminded of it every time a fan raves over her bottom-of-the-ninth submission triumph in 2016.
“People still think for some reason that I was just getting my ass kicked in that fight,” Tate, who this past Saturday snapped a two-fight skid at UFC Austin, said on The MMA Hour. “People still were like, ‘Man, that was like the greatest comeback ever, like, so lucky you got that submission.’”
There’s no doubt Tate pulled off an incredible move at a pivotal time when she choked out Holm. But she argues she wasn’t as far behind as fans would make it seem. Heading into the fifth and final round, all three judges had Holm up 38-37 due to a 10-8 score for Tate in the second. In other words, not exactly a drubbing.
“Yes, because the title was on the line – if I didn’t get the submission, it would have been a draw,” Tate said. “Technically, if we were [going to] the scorecards, had I won the last round. Let’s say I just rode her out, and it was kind of like round two, and I didn’t get the sub on the scorecards, it would have been a draw, and I don’t think many people remember that. So it kind of pisses me off, because she won Round 1, 10-9. I won round two 10-8 on all three scorecards. And then round three, she won, 10-9. Round four, she won 10-9, and round five, if I had won a 10-9, we’re at a draw.
“So it still bothers me that people think that – like they always come to me like, ‘Oh man, she was getting her – I look at the comments, go look at any comments that she was getting her ass kicked, kicking her ass until she got that submission. It’s like, not really.”
Still, Tate would like to leave no doubt that she’s the better fighter. She repeatedly has called for a rematch with Holm, and vice versa. Yet the two have never had a chance to settle the score.
UFC 300 could be just the place to do that, if Tate emerges with a clean bill of health after her UFC Austin win over Julia Avila.
“I think it’s a great time,” Tate said. “I think that sounds reasonable. I did I get a little bit of an injury leaving that fight. So I’ve got to get an MRI and check myself out just make sure. But it’s not very severe ... I’ve been walking around, and I think I’m actually all right. I think I’ll be OK. So if if I can do that, then I think Holly would be a fantastic one.”
Holm is five months removed from a meeting with Mayra Bueno Silva that ended in a submission loss. However, the official result was overturned when Silva tested positive for ADHD medication she failed to declare to regulators. So technically, Holm is not coming off a loss.
This past Saturday, Tate expertly used her grappling skills to sweep the scorecards. More importantly, she said, she didn’t force positions that she didn’t have, moving from one fight to the next so that she was always a step ahead.
Against Holm, Tate said she was working with a different mindset, trying to force her strategy to the detriment of what was happening in the moment. She definitely wasn’t dominating the fight, but she wasn’t fighting to the best of her abilities.
With a new team and a mental coach behind her, Tate said she’s showing up in a way she never before has.
“She was kind of like edging me on the feet, I’ll give her that,” Tate said of Holm. “I absolutely smashed her on the ground. ... So anyway, to answer your question, I think it would be fun to run that one back.”