Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes Announced for UFC 200: Latest Comments, Reaction

Miesha Tate's first title defense won't come against Holly Holm. It won't come against Ronda Rousey. Instead, the UFC women's bantamweight champion will face fourth-ranked competitor Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 on July 9 in Las Vegas:  

Tate, 29, will be fighting for the first time since her March 5 submission victory over Holm at UFC 196. The choice of Nunes is a bit of a surprise given that Holm has been actively campaigning for a rematch at the same show.

"I'll be training right away and I'll take the fight as soon as they'll give anything to me," Holm said last month, per Damon Martin of FoxSports.com. "It's whatever opportunities they'll give to me right now, we'll see where they want to go with this. I do want a rematch. Who doesn't?"

The decision not to go with Holm may be seen as a bit of punishment from UFC management. UFC President Dana White was famously against Holm facing Tate in the first place, wanting Holm to hold off until Rousey was healthy. They could have had perhaps the biggest fight in women's MMA history.

White blamed Holm's manager, Lenny Fresquez, in an interview on ESPN Radio's Russillo & Kanell (via ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto):  

"

The sad part about that is, listen, he's an old boxing guy who thinks he's smart, and he's not. It's one of those things. I feel bad about it. I feel bad for Holly. I don't know if Holly really knows what she lost. I think she has so much faith in the people that surround her, she feels like, "Well, they got me this far."

We had this meeting, and Holly wasn't even in it. Holly, that's your life. You should be in that meeting. Don't leave it to these people. Anyway, Holly made a lot of money. She accomplished great things, she beat Ronda Rousey. But it could have been so much bigger for her, and the sad part is, I don't think she even knows it.

"

To use wrestling parlance, this feels a lot like UFC giving Tate a job to bide time. Nunes is a solid competitor, but she's a clear No. 4 in her division. She has a 12-4 record and isn't even a top-15 pound-for-pound fighter in women's MMA, according to MMARising.com.

Giving Tate a win here builds to a potential showdown with Rousey in the winter. Rousey has already defeated Tate on two occasions, so fortifying the champ's resume between now and a third fight would help bring hype.

Either way, this is an underwhelming bout on what's supposed to be the biggest card in UFC history. 

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.