Strikeforce Tate vs. Rousey Recap: "Rowdy" backs up smack talk in Ohio
Posted on March 4, 2012, 12:51 AM by Joey Santosus
Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey delivered an action-packed line-up tonight from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Proving that she was more than just an inexperienced pretty face, Ronda Rousey secured her fifth consecutive submission victory in the headlining bout, dethroning Miesha Tate to capture the Women's Bantamweight title. Despite surviving a noticeably painful first attempt by Rousey, Tate was forced to tap in the waning moments of the opening round when a second gut-wrenching armbar was applied. With the victory, "Rowdy" improves her unblemished record to 5-0 and is expected to face Sarah Kaufman in her first title defense.
Josh Thomson made his return tonight, taking on striker K.J. Noons in the co-main event. After more than a year of inactivity, Thomson faced the inevitable question of ring-rust heading into the bout, but was able to dominate Noons for much of the affair. Known more for his crisp boxing and knockout power than wrestling and jiu-jitsu, "King" was unable to offer any defense from his back, as Thomson blanketed him from top position. Though the judges' scored the bout unanimously in his favor, "The Punk," who is likely next in line to challenge current 155-pound champ Gilbert Melendez, remained critical of his performance.
Kazuo Misaki was successful in his promotional debut, battling Paul Daley en-route to a favorable split decision, while Lumumba Sayers choked-out heavy-handed veteran Scott Smith. Former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza got back in the win column, submitting short-notice replacement opponent Bristol Marunde in the main card opener.
LowKick.com Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey Main Card Awards:
- Fight of the Night: These awards are supposed to be designated for those competing on the main card (hence their title), but this card's fight of the night was hands down Sarah Kaufmann vs. Alexis Davis. In what was undoubtedly one of the most entertaining ladies' bouts I've seen to date, these two came out swinging for the fences - and beyond. In the end, it was Kaufman who emerged victorious via majority decision, but the real winner was Women's MMA as a whole.
- Performance of the Night: Getting back to the main card, Ronda Rousey's display of technique and brute strength was a site to behold. Knowing full-well what the challenger's gameplan entailed, Miesha Tate was still unable to provide an answer for Rousey's judo-throw, armbar, tap-out routine. And while "Rowdy" may not have shown us anything new tonight, the fact that she was able to pull of the same ole stunt against a tried and true champion like Tate speaks volumes about her fighting future.
- Finish of the Night: Yes, this also goes to Rousey. If that first armbar wasn't nasty enough, the second one left you wondering how Tate had any arm left at all. And while Tate deserves the utmost respect for hanging on as long as she did, one has to wonder if it was worth losing a limb over?
Comments
Awesome performance by Rousey. Another arm for her collection.
Brutal.
btw It wasnt Misaki's promotional debut
Rousey is such a beast lol her throws are amazing. the only complaint i have from that fight is the ground and pound she did when she was in mount, that sh.it was pretty pathetic lol
Can everyone please take a second please.
Ronda did not deserve the title shot at all, Kaufmann totally deserved the title shot over her.
That being said, Ronda is clearly beat Tate fairly and took her opportunity in a great performance.
She will almost certainly beat Kaufmann as well.
Just because someone is good enough to do something doesn't mean they have earned their opportunity to do it.
And the Chael act WILL sell her pretty good!!....Class Act ....Arrr....
How did Ronda's traps get like a buff man's??
Ronda "Rude" Rousey
I'm pretty sure though the tough bichy act is just for the Sonnen appearance and attention
I thought Scott smith retired his gloves already....
Scott Smith should retire. He is going down the Jens Pulver road and completely destroying any name he ever had by losing to fighters most of us have never heard of and chances are will not hear of them again.
From the fight start to the end he looked like he just wanted out to get his cheque, can't believe he tapped to that guillotine while the exit lane was pretty much completely open.
ooooooo mama, imagine having a threesome with these 2, they would start cat fighting over who gets it first, ooooooooooooo mama
Ronda is a f*ckin beast. I don't think there r any women right now that could stop her game. And she looked smokin hot while doin it. I think Im in love with this girl!
Cyborg would stop her game any day.
Any day on 'roids?? Ronda would tap her out too. Maybe a leg this time!
i loved the smooth sweeps and transitions on the ground last night. It was genuinely a pleasure to watch. Tate vs Rousey seriously legitimized womens mma last night in my eyes.
rouseys a finisher! absolute killer!
What were the fights on Friday night? heh
how crazy is it that tate vs rousey is one of the best fights ive seen in a while. Dana needs to shut up and bring the women into the UFC
What women??? there are not enough women of "that" level to even build something like that. Why do u think that Rousey had to come down in weight? There was no challenge for her. A problem many women MMA fighters have to deal with. Quality opponents. The pool just aint deep enough yet. Hopefully fights like these will inspire a lot more females to get into MMA and work themselves up to that pro level. Then someday we "Might" see women in the UFC (that's if Strikeforce doesn't survive as a promotion cause if they do the women will stay put for sure and UFC won't even bother bringing women over).
On the other hand, if there were a woman's division in the UFC they would appear everywhere. Even a tuff show for them, it is plausible or at least in time.
you wanna talk about not deep enough how about the newly formed flyweight division. There are only 3 top tier fighters. Just last night in SF there were 4 top female fighters then there are others like cyborg, megumi fuji, marloes coenen, gurgel, carmouche..the list goes on and on. Maybe there isnt enough for 145 lbs but clearly more than enough for 135.
Oooooooowwwww!!!!!!!
How bout' that nasty armbar?!!!
She is nasty, what a finisher:
And mad respect to Tate for holding on so long but she should have tapped the first time. I think she will out for a pretty long time, due to surgery. She messed that arm up real bad.
@ Griffin: The women divisions aren't deep enough, altough i really enjoyed this fight. Are we going to have Rousey, Tate, Kaufmann, Cyborg(if she can make weight without the juice) and Gina going back and forth.They need to have more fighters that are worth watching, and i don't even enjoy watching all these names.
In my opinion, this goes for womens boxing as well.
They usually aren't explosive enough,they lack speed and power, technique and aggressivness. Not all of them, but enough of them for me personally to feel that i'm wasting my time with watching it. The Rousey vs Tate fight was worth watching but i still wasn't impressed by the Kaufmann fight.
They still need to get better as a whole.
I don't care for what arguments are put forth .. I do not like watching women fight and will never buy a card with women headlining... I don't know if its a genetic thing or a social thing but I can't stand watching women get hurt.. I didn't like them in the army while I was their either .. If they want to train to protect themselves that's fine but I will never enjoy watching a women get hurt... even incidentally in sport..
I cant stand to watch golf, but Ive never went into a thread on golfing to tell everyone how much I disapprove.
Live and let live?