Sherdog’s Top 10: MMA Rivalries

6. Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate

The dislike that exists between Rousey and Tate was evident from day one. The first of their two matchups went down in March 2012, the two women engaging in a sometimes uncomfortable war of words in the media before squaring off in the Strikeforce cage. Rousey had submitted her first four opponents with armbars, all in less than a minute, but Tate hung tough and battled through a hideous early armbar attempt, only to succumb to the maneuver with roughly 30 seconds left in the first round. Tate’s elbow was wrecked, but the result only worsened the back-and-forth between the two women’s bantamweights.

“Cupcake” was awarded her rematch 18 months later at UFC 168, where she became the first opponent to survive the first round against Rousey. Even so, Tate yielded to the same armbar in the third round, as Rousey retained the UFC women’s bantamweight championship. The rivalry cooled for a time, but the nastiness picked up again after Rousey was knocked out by Holly Holm. Tate then snatched the title from Holm by choking her unconscious at UFC 196. Unless Rousey retires, this rivalry seems far from over.

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