White: Ronda Rousey gets first crack at new UFC champ Miesha Tate

Miesha Tate wouldn’t name a potential next opponent after winning the UFC women’s bantamweight title from Holly Holm on Saturday. So UFC President Dana White did it for her.

Following Tate’s (18-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) stunning fifth-round come-from-behind submission win over Holm (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in UFC 196’s pay-per-view co-headliner at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, reporters asked her multiple times whom she should fight next.

Tate towed the company line and said it’s up to UFC brass to determine her next foe, but in reality, only two options really seem likely. The first is an immediate rematch with Holm, who suffered her first career loss in dropping the title. The other is a third showdown with longtime rival Ronda Rousey (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who owns two career victories over Tate.

“Cupcake” did her best after UFC 196 to simply relish the moment of her grandest career accomplishment. White, on the other hand, was already plotting the next move, which is his mind is a Rousey title shot.

“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.”

Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey

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.

Although Rousey would’ve seemed to have vested interest in the UFC 196 co-headliner, the former champ apparently didn’t watch the fight. The ex-champ reportedly spent her night at a professional wrestling event, though White said he exchanged brief text messages with her and might encourage her to get ready for her planned late-year return.

“I texted Ronda, and Ronda wasn’t even watching the fight,” White said. “I texted Ronda, and she said, ‘What happened?’ I said, ‘Miesha just choked her unconscious.’ And she said, ‘Well, it looks like I got to get back to work.’ I don’t know what that means – if that means acting or fighting.

“She’s scheduled to not come back until October or November, but that doesn’t mean I can’t ask. I can ask. Ronda Rousey has worked very hard for three-and-a-half years in this company and believe me, she did anything that was asked of her and went above and beyond the call of duty. If she wants to stay out until October, she can do that.”

Tate, meanwhile, would fight Rousey or give Holm a rematch, but she has no preference, she said. After working so long and experiencing so many setbacks in her quest to become UFC champion, Tate said her primary focus is to embrace the most memorable moment of her fighting life.

“I’m just excited to be here,” Tate said after the event. “Right off the bat I want to say thank you to Holly for stepping up when she could have waited. In my mind that woman is still a champion, will always have a ton of my respect and if I ever have the honor of stepping in there with her again, I would love that.”

For more on UFC 196, check out the UFC Events section of the site.