When it comes to Miesha Tate
vs. Holly
Holm, it boils down to a classic tale of “she said, she
said.”
In early December, Tate (19-9) spoke on The MMA Hour
about her recovery following her match against Julia Avila
and what she wanted next. “Cupcake” was open about the
outcome-dependent result, in that she would have considered
retirement with a loss but would like to push on following a win.
Her attention turned towards the field of bantamweight contenders,
but one name caught her eye more than the others: former foe
Holm.
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When asked about potentially rematching Holm on UFC
300 in April, Tate was not at all opposed to it, health
permitting.
“I think it’s a great time,” Tate replied. “I think that sounds
reasonable [to fight Holm again]. I did get a little bit of an
injury leaving that fight [against Avila]. So, I’ve got to get an
MRI and check myself out just to make sure. But it’s not very
severe … I’ve been walking around, and I think I’m actually
alright. I think I’ll be OK. So, if I can do that, then I think
Holly would be a fantastic one.”
Holm, 42, last competed against Mayra
Bueno Silva in July, where she succumbed to a second-round
ninja choke. Silva subsequently failed a post-fight drug test, and
the loss was overturned to a no-contest, but Silva is still
receiving a shot at the vacant 135-pound title. Before then, the
ex-kickboxer had won three of four, with decisions over Raquel
Pennington, Irene
Aldana and Yana Santos,
opposite a nailbiter split decision defeat against Ketlen
Vieira in 2022.
Meanwhile, Tate bounced back from a two-fight skid earlier in
December with a submission win over Avila. This marked her return
to bantamweight after an ill-fated trip to flyweight against
Lauren
Murphy in 2022, where she fell short on the scorecards. Tate
has competed four times since retiring after a 2016 loss to
Pennington, winning two by stoppage—her comeback victory came
against Marion
Reneau—and losing two via decision.
According to Holm’s manager, Lenny Fresquez, their team does not
believe Tate is considering the Holm rematch. The two first came to
blows at UFC 196 in 2016 with Holm’s bantamweight crown on the
line. While all three judges had Holm up 38-37 heading into the
final frame, Tate pulled off the submission comeback to put Holm to
sleep with a rear-naked choke. In the process, she handed “The
Preacher’s Daughter” her first professional loss. Fresquez believes
the interest is not mutual.
“She wants nothing to do with Holly,” Fresquez told
MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “She’s turned down the fight three
times already. We are looking for someone tougher. We are hopeful
we will be on UFC 300. No opponents have been brought up yet.”
UFC 300 will occur at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 13.
No names on the marquee have been announced, but the promotion did
release a trio of matches on its billing. At light heavyweight,
former champ Jiri
Prochazka will take on Aleksandar
Rakic; in the featherweight division, ex-bantamweight
beltholder Aljamain
Sterling will battle it out with Calvin
Kattar; Bo Nickal
will try to stay undefeated against Cody
Brundage in a middleweight contest.