The most discussed women's MMA match since Gina Carano vs. Cristiane Santos has been booked for Strikeforce's March event in Columbus, OH, as 135-pound champion Miesha Tate will defend against Ronda Rousey. MMA Weekly reported the news Wednesday night, but there have been no confirmations from either side as of this writing.
Rousey (4-0) has risen to prominence by finishing all of her opponents by armbar in less than three minutes combined. The 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in judo asked for the Tate fight following her 39 second victory over Julia Budd in November, setting off a slew of social medial discussion on whether Rousey was ready and the state of women's MMA.
Tate (12-2) has won six in a row, but hasn't fought since defeating Marloes Coenen by fourth round submission in July 2011. It was expected at one point that Tate would defend her title against former champion Sarah Kaufman, but that fight never materialized. Kaufman (14-1) hasn't competed since winning a decision over Liz Carmouche in July.
On Twitter Wednesday night, Rousey said, "I haven't signed anything nothing is official everybody calm down" Wednesday while Tate alluded to the fight in some conversations with fans without any confirmation. The March event is expected to be on Saturday, March 3rd -- the same night as the Strikeforce Grand Prix Finals. With Strikeforce set to return to action this Saturday, a formal announcement could come this week.
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