Strikeforce: Ronda Rousey vs. Meisha Tate Breakdown and Prediction

The most important fight to date in the history of Women's Mixed Martial Arts takes place this Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio as Miesha Tate (12-2) defends her title against Ronda Rousey (4-0).

Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey features an exciting card, but the most anticipated fight will be the main event between these two prominent female fighters.

Many questions will be answered including how strong the current state of WMMA is. As big as most fans are of MMA, the majority would be hard pressed to name more than three to five female fighters.

There is a lot riding on Tate vs. Rousey.

These are supposed to be the two best fighters the sport has to offer, at least that will be the belief most fans have coming into this fight due to the massive marketing surrounding this event.

It's time to put aside the trash talking, and the debate of who looks better. We need substance, and we need to talk about their actual skills.

No matter how Strikeforce and Showtime want to promote this fight, WMMA will not grow without showcasing the fighting talent of each.

Let's look at how these two match up with each other.

Striking (Punches)

Rousey has had four professional fights. What do each of them have in common?

They have all ended via armbar within 49 seconds of the first round, but she has also not exchanged punches with any of her opponents.

The only glimpse of strikes we get from Rousey is when she rushes her opponent and throws a fury of jabs. She is not trying damage her opponent with those punches, but rather get close enough to take her down.

Tate has ended two of her 12 career wins by TKO due to strikes. The most recent one, however, was over three years ago.

Although Tate has not shown a true knockout punch, she does strike effectively and has shown she can stand up with any opponent.

Advantage: Miesha Tate

Striking (Kicks)

Unless Rousey has completely changed her style of fighting in the last four months, she will not fare well in this fight unless she gets it to the ground.

Tate has displayed excellent leg kicks at times including two stellar knockout head kicks.

In addition to using her kicks for offensive purposes, she will also display a good amount of front kicks against Rousey to maintain her distance and limit her takedown chances.

Advantage: Miesha Tate

Ground Game (Submissions)

Four armbars in four fights within 49 seconds. That is Rousey's complete professional MMA career.

There are no armbar attempts with Rousey. She finishes them, and finishes them fast.

While Tate does have five submission wins of her own, including one against former champion Marloes Coenen, it pales in comparison to the submission skills Rousey has shown in her young career.

Advantage: Rousey

Ground Game (Overall)

Nobody is giving Tate a chance to win this fight should it get to the ground, but the overall ground game needs to be evaluated.

Rousey has made a name for herself in two ways.

For one she never seems to stop talking. How much of that is genuine confidence, and how much of it is just fluff to sell herself and the fight remains unanswered.

The other way Ronda has made a name for herself is her signature submission.

"Rowdy" is synonymous with the armbar. There is no denying the fact that the speed in which she has been able to submit each of her opponents is as impressive a feat as you will find in MMA.

We don't know how good her opponents have been, but they have all seemed to be fighters just getting their feet wet on the professional circuit.

Tate is no slouch on the ground. The image of her choking out Marloes Coenen to win the Strikeforce Bantamweight Championship is still fresh in the minds of many fans.

The media is overlooking how strong Tate is on the ground. Coenen came into that championship bout with 14 career submission victories, and much more experience than Rousey. If Tate was able to overcome Coenen's ground attack, surely she can do the same to Rousey.

When it comes to submissions, Rousey has the edge. Once she gets her legs over her opponents shoulders, the fight is over. She has proven that in each of her fights.

However, when taking into account the overall ground game, the edge must be given to Tate.

Advantage: Tate

Cardio (Stamina)

It's tough to gauge a fighter's stamina when their four career professional fights have combined for 138 seconds.

That is exactly what we have in looking at Ronda's career.

Miesha has shown over the years that she can go the distance and be effective in the later rounds of her fights. She has been involved in five decisions and 64 percent of her fights have gone past the first round.

Until we see how Rousey performs in the later rounds of a fight, we can't give an advantage to her when discussing cardio. In fairness, an advantage can't be given to Tate either since a true comparison cannot be made.

Advantage: Undetermined

Fight Prediction

I've gone back and forth over the past couple of weeks choosing between Team Tate and Team Rousey. A little more than two weeks ago, I wrote a column explaining why Rousey will become the face of WMMA.

I'm good with everything I wrote in that article, and I think it will still hold true. I still do think she will become the face of WMMA, and I also think she will beat Miesha Tate.

I just don't think that time is now, and certainly not when they fight tomorrow night in Columbus, Ohio.

The fact that Rousey is a favorite to win this fight goes to show how persuasive she is when she speaks. "Rowdy" has done most of the talking leading up to this fight, and I'm somebody who believes that is a sign she is hiding many insecurities about her chances to beat Tate.

Her trash talking is the primary reason she was given this title shot, so I can't blame her for continuing to do so leading up to the fight.

Let me say that I'm not more of a fan of one fighter over the other. I think they are both very important for the future of WMMA.

I don't understand why the majority of people are saying Rousey is going to win this fight.

I'm still trying to decipher whether or not fans of either fighter or pulling for them because they like the way they fight or the way they look.

If you read the things fans are saying to both fighters on Twitter and on message boards, you will find that most compliments are stemming from how Ronda looks with wet hair or how hot Miesha is in her MMA gear.

Showtime and Strikeforce are both promoting the "sexy" aspect of this fight.

However, if the sport of WMMA is going to thrive, then there has to be more substance to their skills than just how they look.

I suppose that topic should be left for an editorial down the road.

The fact is Miesha Tate will win this fight. Ronda has never fought anybody close to the skill level of Tate and that will be shown early and often. Experience goes a long way in MMA and this fight will once again prove that.

Rousey will be lost once she realizes she can't take Tate down. She will be hit hard for the first time in her professional career and lose by TKO.

Prediction: Miesha Tate via TKO (Round 2)

For additional information follow, Joe Chacon on Twitter (@JoeChacon).