Ronda Rousey defeated Miesha Tate at UFC 168 with an armbar submission, but apparently wasn’t ready to put her animosity aside afterward.
After her effective armbar brought end to their rematch, Rousey stood up and refused Tate’s attempt at a handshake.
Rousey’s anger was clear even before the fight started. While Miesha Tate bounced into the Octogon with a smile and plenty of energy, Rousey scowled and maintained her angry look throughout the fight.
Ronda Rousey earned plenty of boos from the crowd for refusing Miesha Tate’s goodwill gesture of a handshake, but said after the fight that it didn’t bother her.
The animosity between the fighters has been clear for months. They have traded barbs in the press, with Ronda saying that Miesha Tate doesn’t deserve a shot at her title.
“Miesha has a nice ass and an ongoing rivalry with me, and that’s the only reason she was picked for this fight,” Rousey said of their UFC 168 bout.
Tate, who also lost the previous fight when a metnal lapse allowed Rousey to apply her famous arm bar, had said before the fight that she didn’t want to let Ronda get a mental edge.
“Ronda said some things that really got under my skin,” Tate told USA Today Sports . “She plays the mental warfare game. I didn’t want to fight her because I love fighting; I wanted to fight her because I wanted to beat her up.”
“The biggest thing for me is just remembering to be myself, be on an even keel, and not allow anyone, particularly Ronda, to make me emotional,” she added. “Really, that’s been the biggest change.”
Still, oddsmakers predicted the ending, putting Ronda Rousey with odds as high as 10-to-1 against Miesha Tate.