Bryan Caraway and Miesha Tate are rare commodities in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).
Not only is the pair girlfriend and boyfriend, but they are both in the pinnacle of their careers. Tate finally realized her dream in becoming the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's Bantamweight champion when she submitted Holly Holm in the fifth and final round at UFC 196, while Caraway is nearing his own title shot in the men's Bantamweight division.
With a 6-2 promotional record to call his own, including submission victories over Erik Perez, Johnny Bedford, and Mitch Gagnon, Caraway is quickly becoming an elite option at 135 pounds. He just handed Aljamain Sterling his first professional loss via split-decision back at UFC Fight Night 88.
Considering the Bantamweight division is consistently looking for new primed contenders, especially with perennial challenger Urijah Faber gradually falling off, "Kid Lightning" may be in place to capture a UFC title sooner rather than later. For him, that would be a pretty awesome experience.
"What would be a more cool story than both (in the) couple being UFC world champions in the same household?" said Caraway in a recent interview on MMA Junkie Radio. "Both started training from living in an RV in the middle of the woods for almost three years to sacrifice to get to this dream to the UFC - and now she's the UFC world champion and I'm on the cusp of fighting for the world title. What better story than that? If you love me, you hate me, you think it's because of her, whatever."
Despite the divisional return of guys like Raphael Assuncao and Michael McDonald, as well as the arrival of Flyweight defectors John Dodson and John Lineker, Caraway believes he's the one who can best promote a title fight with current champion Dominick Cruz.
"I'm the guy that's going to sell that fight with Dominick Cruz," added Caraway. "I'm the guy that makes the most sense for that fight, and I believe I'm the guy that has that awkward style. Dominick Cruz is awkward on his feet, I'm awkward on my takedowns and on the ground. He hasn't seen the type of athlete and fighter that I am, just like I haven't seen the type of fighter he is. That's what I think is going to make it fireworks for the fight."
While a title fight with Cruz probably isn't going to come without winning at least one more time, crazier things have happened and Caraway has certainly earned his keep at 135 pounds.