Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Women's Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey dispatched Miesha Tate for the second time last night (Dec. 28, 2013) in the co-main event of UFC 168 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In doing so, she put a stamp on a rivalry that began in Strikeforce during a time when the Women's Bantamweight division was given focus after Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino tested positive for Stanozolol in her bout with Hiroko Yamanaka. "Cyborg's" absence left a hole that Rousey easily filled due to her brash nature and ability arm anyone and everyone.
When "Cyborg" returned in 2013, Women's mixed martial arts (MMA) passed her by and left her behind. There was a new dominant force who spoke english and was easy on the eyes. The focus of WMMA became the bantamweight division, with Rousey and Tate providing sex appeal to the male fan.
Though the sport moved beyond the terminator known as "Cyborg," she remains the biggest fight available to Rousey at this point in their respective careers. Rousey is without peer inside the Octagon while Justino fights less talented fighters in Invicta and Lion Fight Promotions.
Last night, Justino made it clear that she's still hoping to fight Rousey in the future. And if her tweet is any indication, she believes that fight is closer than we all think.
"Ronda I'm coming to get you!" pic.twitter.com/JcDZoKgpwV
— Cris Cyborg (@criscyborg) December 29, 2013
This could just be another case of a fighter making a bunch of noise hoping to stay relevant in the public eye, but she hasn't fought since September and doesn't have anything booked yet for 2014. Perhaps she's finally making the conscious effort to cut down to 135 pounds?
No matter the case, the bout between "Cyborg" and Rousey must happen. If it doesn't, it will just be the WMMA version of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar, a fight that should have happened but didn't because of egos.
For full UFC 168: "Weidman vs. Silva 2" fight coverage and results, check out our story stream right here.