Miesha Tate Loves the Idea of Coaching Opposite Ronda Rousey on The Ultimate Fighter
Through 15 seasons of The Ultimate Fighter reality show, the UFC and its television partners have seen and produced just about every angle possible in terms of coaches and fighters.
They've brought on heated rivals like Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as coaches. They've had YouTube street fighters like Kimbo Slice look to earn their way into the UFC through the reality show. There's even been a live season of The Ultimate Fighter, although one is all anybody will be seeing of that format.
But if there is one element that The Ultimate Fighter has omitted through 15 seasons, heading into their 16th which debuts on FX in September, it's a competition fueled by women's mixed martial artists.
With this weekend's Strikeforce card headlined by women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, it's hard not to think that at some point down the road she and her biggest rival to date would make for great reality TV.
“I love it,” said Miesha Tate on MMAWeekly Radio when asked about her thoughts on coaching opposite Rousey on TUF. “I think that would be the fight to put on if they were going to do that. It doesn't get any better than Ronda and I; two ladies who honestly have a rival between each other.”
Rousey and Tate had the most heated rivalry in women's MMA history earlier this year, which led to their showdown in March in Columbus, Ohio. Ultimately, Rousey once again pulled off an armbar submission, and Tate is quick to point out her mistakes in the fight.
Still, if given the chance she'd love to do it all over again.
“I feel like there's unfinished business. I have to hold myself accountable. I think I allowed myself to be mentally beat before I came through the cage,” Tate revealed.
“I was confident that I was going to win the fight, maybe too confident, but I wasn't in the right mindset. I should have been more conscious of what was going on and not paid as much attention to promotion and things like that. I realize that now.”
All Strikeforce fighters currently under contract are bound there for the foreseeable future, but it doesn't hurt to look ahead at the possibility of an all women's edition of The Ultimate Fighter if the opportunity ever came to pass.
Tate would jump at the chance if the higher ups at Zuffa decided to choose her as coach on the reality show, and there's no doubt the fires would once again rage when she faced off with Rousey as an opponent.
“I think it would be a huge selling point and a huge hit. Ronda knows how to talk trash, and hype things and whatnot, and I'd just be keeping it cool and have fun. I think we play well off of each other,” said Tate.
“Out of any women's mixed martial arts fight that's happened before, we set the bar higher. I think there wouldn't be two better females to host an Ultimate Fighting reality show.”
For more news and rumors follow along with MMAWeekly.com on Facebook.