Former UFC women's bantamweight title challenger Miesha Tate looks to remain relevant in the division on April 19 by beating another top 10 competitor in Liz Carmouche at UFC on Fox 11.
In an interview with ESPN, "Cupcake" discussed enjoying the drama-free atmosphere that has come with being matched with Carmouche, as well as coming up short in her rematch with champ Ronda Rousey at UFC 168 in December.
She attributed the loss to deviating from her game plan, something she believes longtime UFC welterweight titleholder Georges St-Pierre was able to execute to a tee throughout his career. She told ESPN's Brett Okamoto:
I felt like I had to do something more decisive. I wanted that takedown to make it so that I won the round for sure. That’s just what happens in the haste of a fight sometimes. It doesn’t come out as clean as it did in training. That’s why I think [Georges St-Pierre] is one of my favorite fighters. He seems to be able to stick to a game plan and execute it flawlessly, whether it’s exciting or not. He does it with perfection every single time. I’m like, ‘How do you do that?’
Prior to announcing a hiatus from the sport and vacating his belt late last year, "Rush" had won 12 fights in a row, including nine successful title defenses.
While he consistently dialed in dominant performances, aside from a controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, he generally received criticism for his seven consecutive decision victories between July 2009 and November 2013.
Even if not everyone liked it, it is difficult to deny that St-Pierre was excellent at picking his opponents apart with a steady mix of kickboxing, takedowns and ground-and-pound, typically choosing his spots wisely and not getting overaggressive.
Based on this interview, Tate appears cool, calm and collected against a very tough opponent in Carmouche, but the reality is she could very well be in a must-win situation.
Tate is just 1-3 in his past four matchups; granted, she only lost to elite competition in Rousey (twice) and top contender Cat Zingano.
Tate vs. Carmouche serves as the co-main event for UFC on Fox 11, with the Orlando, Fla., card being headlined by a heavyweight title eliminator bout between Travis Browne and Fabricio Werdum.
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
