Tate: Win over Harrison would ‘vindicate’ Rousey losses

Miesha Tate may never get to avenge her two losses to Ronda Rousey from 2012 / 2013, but she sees a potential shot at redemption against Kayla Harrison.

Harrison is currently preparing to face women’s bantamweight champion Juliana Pena at UFC 316 on June 7th. Tate is returning to action after a year and a half off to face Yana Santos on the undercard of UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo next weekend (Sat. May 3rd, 2025). There’s a whole lot of space between Miesha and Kayla right now, but Tate is hoping she can scrap her way back to the top of the division and face her judo demons.

“I have desperately wanted to show how much better I can do now against a judoka,” Tate told MMA Fighting. “Because I did lose those first two matches to Ronda, and I just didn’t understand it. I have an entirely different coaching staff now. I have people who really can mimic someone who has a judo background.”

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at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Kayla isn’t cutting through women like Ronda was when she arrived on the scene, though. Sometimes Harrison dominates, sometimes she does not, and it probably has to do with her body shutting down due to the insane weight cut to 135.

Could Kayla and Miesha end up fighting? Tate is currently 2-2 since a 2021 comeback and ranked No. 11 at women’s bantamweight. But her name and popularity means she’s never too far from a title shot, should she build up a resume good enough to justify it. That all starts May 3rd when she faces Yana Santos.