Sara McMann vs. Miesha Tate Booked for UFC 183 in Las Vegas

It took awhile, but the UFC was finally able to announce a long-awaited bout between No. 2-ranked women's bantamweight Miesha Tate (15-5) and No. 3-ranked Sara McMann (8-1).

The former Olympian tweeted nearly a month ago that this bout was close to being official. The announcement was made on Fox Sports 1 during the broadcast of UFC Tonight.

McMann lobbied hard for this fight, and Tate was not going to back away from the challenge. Both women have challenged for the UFC gold, but both came up short against Ronda Rousey.

Tate started her UFC career with back-to-back losses to Cat Zingano and Rousey. She has since rebounded with two straight wins. She got back in the win column with a dominant performance over Liz Carmouche in April and came back in September with a decision win against Rin Nakai.

McMann dropped her title bid in February, but she took a narrow and contentious decision against Lauren Murphy in August.

This top-five matchup will move the winner into prime position to challenge once again for the strap. The division is shallow and in need of contenders, and these two ladies are the cream of the crop. Tate will want to erase two armbar losses to Rousey, and McMann wants to redeem herself after a 66-second loss by way of a TKO.

Rousey is set to defend the title in late February against Zingano at UFC 184.

UFC 183 takes place in Las Vegas on January 31, 2015, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The main event will be a middleweight attraction between Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz. The McMann-Tate bout will help bolster the card with another high-level fight in the month of January.