About a week after her defeat at the hands of Cat Zingano at The Ultimate Fighter 17 finale, Miesha Tate is already in talks for her next fight.
Pending medical clearance, Tate could take on Liz Carmouche at UFC on FOX 8 in July. After her loss to Zingano — accomplished through a number of knees and elbows to the face — Tate was expected to be out until about mid-October due to her injuries, which could include a broken nose. However, if an ear, nose, and throat specialist clears Tate, she’ll be able to resume full-contact training as early as June 13.
After the fight, Tate questioned whether some of the knees Zingano landed were illegal or not, especially since a couple happened while she was still getting off the ground.
“I consciously think it was illegal but someone sent me a picture and was like, ‘On the first knee, you were on your hands and knees and you were going to get up,” Tate said. “She kneed you on the way up while your hand was still clearly on the ground,’ and sent me a picture and I was like, ‘Oh I guess that’s a valid point.’”
Zingano didn’t think she did anything illegal, and said she had “not yet been able to review footage of the fight and therefore wasn’t sure of the exact sequence reporters were asking about.”
Carmouche, for her part, is also coming off of a loss. She fought women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in the main event at UFC 157 , and was defeated by — what else? — an armbar submission with 0:11 left in the first round.
Should Tate be cleared to fight Carmouche, she’ll have a bit of an extra incentive. The fight will take place at Key Arena in Seattle — Tate is a native of nearby Tacoma . If the fight does happen, it will take place on the main card, making it the first UFC women’s fight on network television.
Do you think Miesha Tate should fight Liz Carmouche?