When Ronda Rousey defeated Miesha Tate at UFC 168, Tate was still without a UFC win, Holly Holm was still on the regional scene, and Amanda Nunes had just beaten Germaine de Randamie on a Fight For the Troops card. Today, Tate is the UFC women's bantamweight champion, Nunes is challenging Tate at UFC 200, Holm is prepping for a UFC on FOX main event after losing the belt to Tate, and Rousey's future is incredibly uncertain. You better believe that a lot has changed in the women's MMA landscape since the end of 2013.
Tate was on Monday night's episode of Conan, with host Conan O'Brien asking her about the potential for her to get a trilogy match against her arch-rival Rousey.
"Right now I'm trying to really stay focused on Amanda and I know everyone is excited for that Rousey fight," Tate said. "I hope that's something that happens. But I don't want to overlook Amanda, because if I don't beat Amanda there's no next."
When pressed by Conan over whether or not Rousey will ever return to MMA, she called out Ronda for how she's handled herself after losing to Holm at UFC 193 last November.
"I'm not saying she won't come back, I just don't know if she'll come back the same," Tate said. "Because she seems awful pouty about the loss and we've all had losses. You either get up and get back on the horse and come back stronger for it or you sit out for over a year."
According to UFC president Dana White, knee surgery will push any potential Rousey return to December 2016 or early 2017. He's also on record as saying that Rousey comeback would be for an immediate title shot against whoever is the champion.
You can watch the excerpt of Tate's interview at the top of the page.
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