Rousey extends armbar streak with third-round win over Tate at UFC 168
Ronda Rousey proudly walks to the cage to Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation.” After Saturday night, we might have learned how much she really doesn’t give a damn about hers. Rousey kept her string of armbar wins intact, but left with a hit to her likability factor with a simple act of defiance.
After succumbing to Rousey's third-round armbar win to retain her UFC women's bantamweight championship at UFC 168, Miesha Tate got up and offered Rousey a handshake. In ice cold style, Rousey looked at her and walked away. That gesture immediately brought upon her a hail of boos from the sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Rousey was then booed so loudly throughout her post-fight interview with Joe Rogan that she could not be heard over the arena’s sound system.
"In judo, I didn't know what a cheer was," Rousey said. "Cheers are what's new."
Nevertheless, she walks out with the championship belt still in her possession after the co-main event win.
"She's a great fighter. It was an amazing fight she put out," Rousey said of Tate. "She has my respect entirely in that regard, but she really needs to make up a few things she's done before I will shake her hand."
The fight kept a blistering pace throughout, especially in a wild first-round that saw Tate become the first opponent to take Rousey past the opening five minutes.
The first round kept an insane pace for all five minutes, with Rousey threatening several times with armbars and a triangle, but Tate keeping her composure and fighting out of all the disadvantageous positions and landing several standing strikes.
Rousey started to seize control in the second taking down Tate three times and landing 65 strikes, but Tate again fought her way free repeatedly.
Tate was bloodied after the frame, and Rousey quickly took Tate down and transitioned to the fight-finisher. The tap came 58 seconds into the third.
"Going more than one round was a good experience," Rousey said. "I needed that experience in the octagon, and as my mom said, better to get it in a win than in a loss."
Rousey is now 8-0 while Tate is 13-5.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
