UFC star Miesha Tate reiterated her belief that Ronda Rousey's MMA career won't last much longer, saying "Rowdy" has only one or two fights remaining.
Tate spoke to ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto about Rousey's future outlook in a report released on Wednesday:
I think one [more fight] if she loses and two if she wins her comeback. That's the most she'll do. I just think her mind is elsewhere. I've heard her talk about wanting to be a mom -- that's not something that has crossed my mind. That's a big change in career path. Maybe she was already looking to retire. She was already talking about it, saying, "I want to retire undefeated." She was talking about it before she lost to Holly [Holm in November]. I think that was already in the works. Now, she has lost to Holly and is taking a year off. That's the other thing -- any time I lost a fight, I wanted to get back in there immediately. When I lost to Cat Zingano [April 2013], I freaked out. I literally freaked out. I was calling [UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby] every two seconds saying, "Get me in there now." They were actually putting together a fight against Liz Carmouche in Seattle three months later because I was losing it that much. And here's Ronda with a completely different mind-set, willing to sit an entire year. Makes me think where her objectives are.
These remarks about Rousey are a bit more sensitive than the ones Tate shared with SI Now's Maggie Gray, when she criticized Rousey for having suicidal thoughts after her loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193.
"I thought that was a big sign of mental weakness, to be honest," said Tate.
To be fair to Rousey, she had never dealt with defeat before as a UFC fighter until November and had been prominent in the public spotlight, building her brand on a perfect record. That all went away when Holm knocked her out.
The glory Holm could bask in after her breakthrough triumph over Rousey was short-lived. She proceeded to take on the challenge of a short turnaround, fighting Tate at UFC 196 earlier this month. Holm lost via submission by way of a rear-naked choke in the fifth round.
With appearances in multiple Hollywood films under her belt and the interest Tate mentioned of being a mother, Rousey does have other things going on outside of the Octagon.
Even if she were never to fight again, she has already proved to be a pioneering UFC force as the first women's bantamweight champion. Given the competitive fire Rousey has demonstrated in the past, though, she seems bound to return for at least one more bout.
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