Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White cares about his fighters.
That's why he gave undefeated women's bantamweight No. 1 contender Holly Holm a shot at the 135-pound title, despite telling the mixed martial arts (MMA) media that it was instead going to Tate, who rebounded from a submission loss to champion Ronda Rousey to rattle off four straight wins.
As White told UFC Tonight, the change in plans may have very well saved "Cupcake's" career:
"When you really look at that fight, Miesha has lost to her twice. Holly Holm, WBC, WBA, WBF, IBA, you name it, she's won the belt in boxing. She's 9-0 in mixed martial arts (MMA) and if you look at the range and the distance, the head kicks, all the attributes. When we originally brought in Holly Holm, it was to fight Ronda Rousey. That fight makes sense. Miesha, at this point in her career, if she loses to Ronda Rousey a third time, it's a career killer."
Wanting a third fight and not getting it is not uncommon in UFC.
The good news is, Tate has plenty of other options, like a showdown against Bethe Correia, who lost to Rousey just last month. Holm, meanwhile, will try to pull the sword from the proverbial stone when the promotion heads "Down Under" for UFC 193 (more on that here).
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