Strikeforce: Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey Is the Biggest Fight in WMMA History

When the cage doors close for the championship bout of Saturday night's Strikeforce event, it will be the biggest fight in the history of women's mixed martial arts.

Maybe it's due to the lack of high-profile female fights over the years. Or maybe it's the swarm of media attention surrounding the apparent feud between champion Miesha Tate and loudmouth contender Ronda Rousey. But there are few fights in history that rival the magnitude and importance of this one.

The 2009 battle between Gina Carano and Cris "Cyborg" Santos is a close contender, but the Haywire star's inactivity and the now former champion's recent steroid revelation makes that female fight irrelevant in today's MMA landscape.  Even when that bout happened, the status of women's MMA and the sport as a whole was still far from mainstream, making that bout more of an entertaining afterthought for fans.

Fast forward to 2012, and the contrast is quite apparent.

This time around, this female championship fight has significantly more buzz than Carano vs. Cyborg and will surely be a lot more entertaining.  Rather than a one-round beatdown, Tate vs. Rousey promises to be a back-and-forth battle of highly skilled combatants.  

But this fight is important not just because of the title implications, but mainly due to its revival of interest in women's MMA.

After Zuffa acquired Strikeforce last year, speculation arose as to whether UFC president Dana White, a well-known detractor of female fights, would abolish the women's divisions altogether.  Luckily, White did just the opposite, culminating in this historic bout.  Not only will two females headline a major MMA event, but fans are interested for once. This is a sign that women's MMA has major potential.

Credit has to be given to Rousey, as her out-of-the-cage antics and brash behavior are what put this fight into the spotlight.  Taking a page out of Chael Sonnen's book, Rousey's call-out of Tate and repeated trash-talking of the champion have generated interest and brought some personality to a virtually faceless side of the sport.  

Whereas Carano used MMA as a jumping off point for a movie career and Cyborg's dominance but lack of relatability left more to be desired with the fans, Rousey makes for an interesting character and a polarizing figure who motivates fans.  When the fans become energized, there will always be a bump in excitement, and that is something that women's MMA really needed.

Tate vs. Rousey may not be a battle of the two best female fighters in the world, but the implications are great in terms of its importance to the future of women's MMA.  If more female combatants can generate the same level of buzz, expect the women's division to get an even bigger share of the spotlight.

Be sure to "Like" Matt on Facebook or "Follow" Matt on Twitter @MattJuulMMA.