Ronda Rousey opens as substantial favorite over new UFC champ Miesha Tate

Despite her new belt, Miesha Tate is still a substantial underdog heading into her upcoming third bout with ex-titleholder Ronda Rousey.

This past weekend in UFC 196’s pay-per-view co-headliner, Tate (18-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) scored a stunning come-from-behind fifth-round submission win over Holly Holm (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) to claim the women’s bantamweight belt.

Rather than doing an immediate Tate-Holm rematch, UFC President Dana White said Rousey (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who has two past wins over Tate, gets the first shot at the new champ.

“I think that Ronda now will fight Miesha Tate for the title,” White told ESPN’s “SportsCenter” after UFC 196. “That’s what’s going to happen. That’s what I said before this fight even happened.”

Although the fight, which would be Rousey’s first since losing the belt to Holm in November, hasn’t officially been announced and likely won’t take place until late this year, the odds have opened. And they heavily favor Rousey.

“Rowdy” is approximately a -475 favorite at a variety of sportsbooks, and Tate is the +350 underdog. In other words, a winning $100 bet on Rousey would net you $21.05. A $100 bet on Tate, meanwhile, would net you $350 in winnings.

Tate and Rousey have a long history that goes back more than four years. Rousey took the Strikeforce bantamweight title from Tate in March 2012 to set up a rematch at UFC 168 in December 2013. Then-champ Rousey won both fights by submission and showed no mercy for Tate after the victories, which only fueled and intensified their rivalry.

Tate, who discussed Rousey after her UFC 196 win (watch it above), recently questioned Rousey’s motivation ahead of their planned third meeting.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.