With two losses to UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey on her record, Miesha Tate faces a long road back to title contention. If she is able to get past Rin Nakai on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 52 in Japan, "Cupcake" has her eyes set on revenge.
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Tate told MMAJunkie Radio that she's hoping for a rematch with Cat Zingano, who defeated the former Strikeforce champion in her UFC debut. A win over Nakai would get Tate back on track toward a title shot, but it's likely she'll need a few more wins to get another shot at Rousey.
"Beating (Nakai) is definitely a step in the right direction for me," Tate said. "But I don't know exactly where that puts me. I hope it means I'm getting closer to a title shot one more time, and if that's good enough, I'll take the title shot. If not, I'd like to face Cat Zingano again."
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Zingano defeated Tate by third-round TKO in 2013, which was disputed by Tate as an early stoppage. The win earned Zingano a title shot, but a knee injury forced her to withdraw from the bout and then problems in her personal life sidelined her for over a year.
She returns to the octagon at UFC 178 on Sept. 27 against Amanda Nunes and a win would likely earn her a shot at Rousey, which would derail Tate's plan for revenge. But for now, Tate must focus on Nakai, who is currently undefeated at 16-0-1.
"Although Rin is relatively unknown to the general public, she's (16-0-1), and (UFC President) Dana (White) knows that, (UFC co-owner) Lorenzo (Fertitta) knows that, and UFC matchmakers know that," Tate said. "They know that this girl's legit and she's tough. Sixteen wins with no losses is difficult for anybody fighting professionally; it's quite an accomplishment."
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