Ronda Rousey vs. Meisha Tate: Head-to-Toe Breakdown (Upcoming Fight)

On the one hand is Ronda Rousey—the new kid on the block vying for respect, recognition and an eventual belt strapped around her waist.

The Olympic Bronze medalist and Judo expert has been making waves in the women’s MMA circuit not only due to her exceptional looks but also the manner in which she has dispatched her opponents.

On the other hand is Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion beauty Meisha Tate, who achieved that feat by defeating Marloes Coenen more than five months ago.

Initially when Rousey threw down the gauntlet to a proposed title fight with Tate, the latter made reference to the fact that “Rowdy” hadn’t paid her dues and thus should wait her turn.

That seems to have changed, and both female combatants are now slated to throw down in a title showdown on Mar. 3 later this year.

Experience

Meisha Tate has been a pro for just over four years—that’s as many fights as Ronda Rousey has had in her entire professional career.

She’s also faced the more accomplished opponents—Marloes Coenen, Hitomi Akano and Zoila Gurgel.

Tate (12-2) is riding a six-fight winning streak, and common sense says experience should be one of the overriding factors.

Nevertheless, given the fact she has only competed once in 2011 and that Rousey has had five (amateur fight included) in the same time frame, I doubt Tate’s experience will make a whole lot of difference come fight night.

Wrestling vs. Judo

Meisha Tate has a proven wrestling pedigree while Ronda Rousey is an accomplished Judoka.

As Tate’s moniker implies, "Takedown" will have one thing on her mind, and that is taking the fight to the mat and thus testing the resolve of the newbie Rousey.

Though Rousey’s takedown defense hasn’t been tested, expect her to try to nullify any attempts with her Judo base and do likewise to Tate.

This is a 50/50 scenario.

Submission Skill Set

Ronda Rousey and Meisha Tate have good submissions skills, more so the former—seven submissions in both the pros and amateurs—all coming by way of armbar, and all in less than a minute of each round.

At present, Rousey has used a total of four minutes and three seconds to dispatch seven of her opponents.

She also has a ruthless mindset—Julia Budd can vouch for that, as she was left with a broken arm in Rousey’s last outing at Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers.

Final Result

Even though Ronda Rousey will be making her debut at 135-lb, her skill set, confidence, determination, mental toughness and overall tenacity will see her usurp Meisha Tate as the Strikeforce bantamweight champion come Mar. 3.

Prediction: Rousey via armbar submission in Round 1.

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