Tate says Rousey seems to be ‘in a weird mental state’

After beating Holly Holm for the UFC women’s bantamweight title in a massive upset earlier this year, it looks like Miesha Tate could be heading for a third fight with former champ and long-time nemesis Ronda Rousey.

Rousey lost her title to Holm in November last year by way of knockout. Though she was defeated by Rousey in their two previous meetings, Tate is now feeling more confident than ever in her chances against Rousey after submitting the woman who beat her.

“I’m very confident,” Tate told Maxim. “I was telling everyone that Ronda Rousey is not this unbeatable woman and everyone was like, ‘You’re crazy.’ Then Holly Holm went out there and kicked her head off, and I was like, ‘See? I told you she was only human.’ Then I went out there and choked out Holly. It just goes to show you on any given day that someone can go out there and win fights. I want to go out there and I want to rematch her. I feel so excited now that I have the belt. It’s like I’m supercharged and I feel confident, definitely. I want to get back in there.”

Rousey has remained relatively quiet on the matter of her future in MMA since her losing the UFC title, and it remains unclear around what time she will make her return to competition – if indeed she does at all.

“She’s been exposed, for sure. I really question her mentality,” Tate said of Rousey. “I know whenever I’ve been put through any kind of adversity or come back from a loss the first thing I want to do when I come back from a loss is to get in the gym and get better. That’s not what I heard from her. I have yet to hear, ‘Oh, I just want to get back in the gym and get better.’ She has other reasons and other things she wants to go focus on so it just makes me question.

“She said she wants to have kids with Travis Browne. I don’t know where her mind is with everything. I’m not really seeing something that sticks out to me that I can identify with like, ‘Is this a comeback fighter?’ I don’t know. We’re questioning whether she’ll ever fight again. It seems to me like she’s in a weird mental state. And I feel like I’m mentally the best I’ve ever been. It’s all come together perfectly. Another thing is the camp I’ve been working with. We’re on a five fight win streak. My coaches and I have really gelled and we’re speaking the same language. I feel like I’m evolving quickly. Not only physically, but mentally, and my confidence. Everything.”