Miesha Tate Denies Receiving Offer to Headline UFC 157

Miesha Tate

Miesha Tate on main event offer: 'I was never presented with that'

When UFC President Dana White announced that Liz Carmouche would be Ronda Rousey's opponent for the first-ever women's MMA fight at UFC 157, he claimed that the reason Carmouche was given the privilege to participate in this history making match was because nobody else would accept the challenge to face Rousey this February.

However, it would seem that when Dana White was searching for an opponent for Rousey, he apparently forgot to ask one popular contender that would have gladly filled the slot: Miesha Tate.

On Monday's addition of The MMA Hour, a very bitter Tate revealed  that she did not turn down the opportunity to face Ronda Rousey at UFC 157. According to Tate, she was never even offered this coveted spot on the card to begin with.

When asked about White's false claim that she had rejected the offer that eventually went to Liz Carmouche, Tate had this to say in response:

"Absolutely not. I was never presented with that. I had made it clear that I wanted to take some time off after my last win over Julie Kedzie, but that doesn't mean you don't make an exception to the rule when something like that is presented. Clearly when I made those statements, that was before women were coming to the UFC for sure. That was before it be would an opportunity to headline. That was before it would an opportunity to make history. If they would have said, ‘Hey, you want to fight Ronda in the UFC? You want to headline a UFC card for the first fight in history for women?' I would have been like, hell yeah. But it wasn't offered to me."

It looks like when Tate said she wanted to step away from the spotlight for a bit after her recent win last August, White might have taken that statement as a notion that she would not be too thrilled with the idea of headlining a UFC event.

This is why Tate is making it clear that she doesn't want to be known as someone who turns down a fight under pressure. And there's no doubt she would accept the opportunity to avenge her unforgettable submission loss to Rousey in a heartbeat.

Women's MMA is here to stay in the UFC, so it's very likely that Miesha Tate will get another chance at Rousey sometime in the not-so-distant future. Still, Tate will be forced to watch Liz Carmouche have her shot at Rousey's bantamweight belt before she begins her own quest to make a name for herself in the UFC.

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