Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate: A Full Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Holly Holm (10-0) will defend her newly gained women's bantamweight title for the first time at UFC 196. With Ronda Rousey still on the shelf, No. 2-ranked contender Miesha Tate (17-5) steps in to challenge for gold for the second time.

Holm stunned the MMA world with her vicious second-round knockout of Rousey at UFC 193 last November. The victory shifted the complexion of the division as a whole and opened up new opportunities for its contenders.

Tate believed she had wrapped up a title shot up after defeating Jessica Eye last summer. It was her fourth straight win, but the UFC went with Holm instead. It was a decision that hit Tate hard. But now she gets the shot she has rightfully earned with her in-cage performances.

The lone title fight on the card will be the co-main event on Saturday. Whether that is just or not makes little difference. The stakes remain the same.

Here is a head-to-toe breakdown for the co-main event of UFC 196.

Striking

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We will start with the obvious—Holm is a much better striker than Tate.

Holm has simply being doing it at a higher level for a much longer time. Her boxing and kickboxing credentials do not need to be thrown about at this point. They are a known part of her backstory. The focus here should be on what Tate might be able to do against Holm.

Tate has added power to her strikes, but her technique is still rudimentary. She won't wow anyone with crisp boxing maneuvers and slip and rip on Holm. But she can still be moderately successful with power shots. Holm is hittable.

Raquel "Rocky" Pennington, another basic striker with dogged toughness, nearly matched Holm in their contest by landing 40 significant strikes, per FightMetric. She found success in much the same way Tate can this Saturday.

Tate won't win the stand-up battle, but she can score some points and make Holm think about exchanging. It can help Tate find success in other areas where she holds an edge.

Edge: Holm

Grappling

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Grappling is Tate's strength, and it's where she has to be successful to claim UFC gold.

The problem? Holm is really good at defending takedowns and is strong in the clinch. Per FightMetric, she hasn't been taken down in her brief UFC career so far.

That's why Tate must score with a few hard strikes on the feet. She has to make Holm think and commit so that she can change levels to put Holm on the canvas. Shooting from outside will not work. Being predictable will not work.

Tate has the edge in this category, but she has to rely on success elsewhere for it to be a factor in the co-main event. Holm's defensive grappling is a staunch roadblock in Tate's path to victory.

Edge: Tate

Submissions

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This is the area of most intrigue if the fight does hit the canvas. How good is Holm at defending submissions?

She defended the armbar well against Rousey, but that could have been an anomaly. We have not seen Holm on her back defending chokes and arm locks.

Tate is an underrated submission artist. Six of her career victories have come by way of submission.

One has to give the edge to Tate here. Her grappling edge and proven results in the cage make that the case, but Holm likely has the ability to shock folks again if she takes advantage of a stunned Tate.

Fans shouldn't expect this to play a large part in the fight, but if it does come into play, it will be one of the most interesting facets to watch.

Edge: Tate

X-Factors

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Holm's X-Factor: Kicks

All of the focus has been on Holm's head-kick KO of Rousey. However, lost in that is the fact that half of her professional finishes have come by way of kicks—both to the body and the head.

This is an X-factor in this fight too, because Tate has historically been susceptible to kicks. Kaitlin Young finished her with a kick in 2007, and Julie Kedzie nearly did the same in 2012. If Holm connects with her head, it will be over. But Tate also has to be concerned about eating too many body kicks.

The real question is: Will Holm throw many kicks? She may be concerned, especially early in the fight, about getting taken down off the kicks and therefore decide not to throw any. Watch this space on Saturday to see how Holm goes about deciding when and where to kick Tate.

Tate's X-Factor: Toughness

Typically, when someone mentions a fighter's toughness as a key attribute, it's not a great compliment. It means he or she takes a lot of punishment. That is somewhat true in Tate's case, but it is also necessary for her style.

She is not going to out-athlete Holm, and with such a stark difference in their striking, she needs to be able to eat punches to respond with her own offense.

If she can't hold up to Holm's power, it will be a quick, and one-sided, co-main event.

Prediction

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I'm joining Holm's coach Mike Winkeljohn in his prediction of a second-round knockout.

Stylistically, I do not like Tate's chances. Holm is the better athlete; she's quicker, stronger and has fantastic takedown defense. The path to victory for Tate is narrow. Add in Tate's propensity to get clocked by head kicks, and I predict Holm retains in dominant fashion.

Tate has to make this ugly. She needs to fight in the clinch, take Holm down and grind it out. That is not going to happen.

Holm will use the first round to get her distance and timing. The finish comes in the second once she baits Tate to block a low kick low and goes high to drop the No. 2-ranked contender. Get the next contender ready to go because Holm is exiting UFC 196 without breaking a sweat.

Prediction: Holm defeats Tate by TKO in the second round.