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9 Mar, 2016 17:54

Miesha Tate wonders if Ronda Rousey is ‘broken,’ as Conor McGregor set to drop weight

Miesha Tate wonders if Ronda Rousey is ‘broken,’ as Conor McGregor set to drop weight

New UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate has started talking about a potential rematch with Ronda Rousey, but is questioning the former title-holder’s mental state.

Tate recorded an upset win over Holly Holm in UFC 196 over the weekend, winning by a fifth-round submission in a scintillating bout.

Rousey looks set to get a shot at winning back her title in the near future after surprisingly being beaten by Holm late last year.

See more: UFC 196: Meisha Tate beats Holly Holm

New champ Tate has already been beaten by Rousey twice in her fighting career. However, she is confident that it will be third-time lucky should the pair meet again, especially given that the former title-holder recently admitted she considered suicide after being beaten by Holm.

Miesha Tate: Ronda Rousey 'is a broken woman', not sure she'll ever be the same again https://t.co/5QbdirVVuP#UFCpic.twitter.com/ONrDgmhAvy

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) March 8, 2016

“What about Ronda’s mentality?” she said.

“I think Ronda is beating herself up over this. I mean, she previously said that she’s so emotional to the point where she’s considering crazy things.”

“It’s like, this is a broken woman. I don’t know if she’ll ever come back the same. But I have proven that I can come back from adversity and I do come back and I will come back.”

“And there’s no one in this sport that can break me. I have the strongest mindset of anybody in there. I don’t know where Ronda is with her mindset, but I have to wonder. Is she ever going to come back the same?”

“I just saw how Ronda got demolished with clean striking [against Holm]. I think that I’ve improved so much and I’ve showed that in this fight with Holly.”

A Tate-Rousey rematch seems likely to happen before the end of the year, but in all likelihood this will not occur until October or November.

UFC president Dana White has questioned Holm’s logic in taking the fight against Tate and feels she would have been wiser to wait for a bumper rematch against Rousey later in the year.

“It’s one of those things. I feel bad about it. I feel bad for Holly,” the fight official said.

“I don’t know if Holly really knows what she lost. I think she has so much faith in the people that surround her, she feels like, ‘Well, they got me this far.’”

Dana White following Holly Holm’s loss to Miesha Tate: "I feel bad for Holly."https://t.co/FqdSY4db0zpic.twitter.com/xitcJaKVZx

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 9, 2016

“We had this meeting, and Holly wasn’t even in it. Holly, that’s your life. You should be in that meeting. Don’t leave it to these people. Anyway, Holly made a lot of money. “

“She accomplished great things, she beat Ronda Rousey. But it could have been so much bigger for her, and the sad part is, I don’t think she even knows it.”

Meanwhile, the number of viewers of UFC 196 is being predicted as close to a record, with Conor McGregor again bringing in a capacity audience.

See more: UFC continues growth despite shock defeats for McGregor & Holm

Although the final pay-per-view figures are yet to be fully released, talk is that the latest event could well top the charts.

"Never ever shy away from challenges. Never run from adversity. Face yourself head on." - @TheNotoriousMMApic.twitter.com/8yVlXyDiIB

— MonsterEnergyIE (@MonsterEnergyIE) March 9, 2016

The Irishman was unexpectedly beaten by Nate Diaz on Saturday and has a number of his own records to beat.

McGregor already holds the record for the biggest live event on Fox Sports 1 and the most-watched fight on the television station ever, with 2.751 and 3.162 million viewers respectively.

See more: UFC 196: Nate Diaz overpowers Conor McGregor in a shocking win

The outspoken fighter is expected to drop divisions after gaining weight to fight Diaz, with talk that a clash with Frankie Edgar could be in the cards.

“He’s got to go down to 145, first of all,” UFC commentator Kenny Florian said.

“He’s got to defend his belt at 145 pounds. I would like to see him face Frankie Edgar. That’s just what I would like to see.

“For Conor, as champion, I’m going to go with whatever is going to bring me the most money. What do the fans want to see? We saw the Jose Aldo fight, give another guy a shot.”

Diaz meanwhile will be sidelined until April 20 and under medical supervision due to a laceration over his right eye.

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