FanPost

My Interview with Miesha Tate

In my little corner of cyberspace, there is a blog and on it,  I recently did an interview with Strikerforce women's welterweight tournament winner, Miesha Tate.  Hopefully ya'll appreciate a re-posting of it here.  She's a great gal and a good fighter and I wanted her to get the exposure she deserves...

On August 15th, 2009, Strikeforce held what was the largest woman's MMA event in history when Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos entered the cage to face the wildly popular Gina Carano.  A little over a month later, Strikeforce woman's welterweight challenger, Miesha Tate bounced back from her second (and last) loss to begin what is now a five fight win streak.  That loss she was bouncing back from?  A decision that went to Sarah Kaufman, who fights for the Strikeforce welterweight belt on October 9th.

Miesha, who is now 11 – 2, seeks to avenge that loss to Kaufman and keep the belt on her mantle.  Her two – yes that's right two – wins this past August 13th, in an old school elimination tournament, likely set her up for that opportunity in the near future.  Miesha took time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions...

TheMouthofMMA:  Woman's MMA really picked up some steam with the Cyborg vs. Carano fight back in '09.  It seemed like they [Strikeforce] took quite a bit of time off
from it, but it was nice to see them come back with the 135 tourney.  Do you think there is a head of steam going again for more female MMA fights since you won the tournament?

Miesha Tate: Ya', I like to think so.  I always want to represent the sport well and I feel I'm doing so and have a pretty good following going into my title shot!

TheMouthofMMA: What are your short term goals now? Fights you want to see happen for you in the next year or so?

Miesha:  Well it used to be a long term goal but now it's right around the corner... I want to win the World Title and I want to beat Sarah Kaufman in a rematch!

TheMouthofMMA: What is your favorite aspect of the game? Stand-up, BJJ, et. al.?

Miesha: I enjoy the ground fighting best.  I feel like I'm on a much higher grappling level than most women in MMA and I love it, but I love standup too.  It's just not as natural to me.

TheMouthofMMA: Do you think there is any significant difference in how you have to train and prepare as a woman as opposed to your male counterparts?

Miesha: No not really.  I do everything they do.

TheMouthofMMA: Do you have any desire to avenge either of your two losses?

Miesha: Yes! Both, but Kaufman is my most sought after rematch/fight at the moment.

TheMouthofMMA: How do men who don't know you react when they find out what you do?

Miesha: Depends on how dressed up I am, haha!  If I'm "going out" ready, they are usually in disbelief as though someone was playing a prank.

TheMouthofMMA: How about the women you meet?

Miesha: Usually surprised of course, but some react as though they didn't know their own gender was capable of fighting while others are all for it and get really excited for me being an accomplished female.

TheMouthofMMA: If you could have any one wish for women's MMA, what would it be?

Miesha: That it would be valued equally with the mens.

TheMouthofMMA: Changing gears a bit, what got you started in the sport?

Miesha: I wrestled in high school in order to avoid basketball, lol.  That led me to MMA in College.

TheMouthofMMA: You launched Takedown Tate not too long ago. How is that going for you so far?  What are your goals for the site?

Miesha: It's going great! Just reached 1000 members, which was my goal for October 1st, so hit it early which is great!  Other than that, I just hope members/fans can keep up with the latest!

 

 

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