Rousey adds snub to Tate after tapout
Mixed Martial Arts can be a brutal sport, there is little doubt about that.
The barbarian spirit was on full display Saturday night atUFC 168, where championship matches were held in the men’s and women’s divisions, the men’s bout ending brutally after Anderson Silva suffered a compound leg fracture.
The women’s bout showcased violence, as well, but Ronda Rousey, the bantamweight champion, wasn’t satisfied with simply bloodying the face and forcing opponent Miesha Tate to tap out in the third round after applying her patented arm bar.
Rousey (8-0) spun Tate and pulled on her left arm until the challenger tapped out on Rousey’s thigh 58 seconds into the third round.
Adding insult to embarrassment, Rousey walked away from Tate’s attempt to shake hands, eliciting boos from the pro-Tate crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Rousey, who has won all eight of her MMA fights by arm-bar submission, praised Tate for her toughness but said there was too much ill will built up during their three months of filming the reality show The Ultimate Fighter 17, where they led their respective teams into competition.
“I need to commend and congratulate Miesha, she is an amazing fighter, she really is,” Rousey said. “It’s just once you insult my family, I can’t shake your hand. But I really respect her and she did an amazing job tonight.”
Tate, interviewed after Rousey’s snub, said, “I have no excuses, she’s the better fighter.”
There has been bad blood between the two since they fought on March 3, 2012 in Columbus, Ohio, with Rousey dislocating Tate’s elbow, via arm bar, to win by submission in the first round.
Their frosty relationship didn’t improve during three months of filming as opposing captains for the reality show, episodes that often made Rousey look petty.
Fans of the show often saw Rousey, who won a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics, as short tempered and almost childish in her behavior toward Tate no matter how much Tate tried to step across the aisle and create a bipartisan gym between the competing sides.
Rousey did not play along with the pranks played on her by Tate during the show’s filming, and Rousey went into great detail after the fight, explaining her disdain of Tate stems from insults aimed at her coach Edward Tarverdyan as well as some underhanded tactics toward her top pick Chris Beal while on the show. Rousey said if Tate would apologize directly to her, she would consider shaking her hand.
It probably won’t come in a rematch as Rousey once again left no doubt about which woman is the superior fighter, despite her lack of sportsmanship.
Kicking yourself
One kick can ruin everything.
Saturday night, Chris Weidman defeated Anderson Silva for theUFC middleweight title when Silva suffered a broken leg after Weidman checked a Silva kick in the second round.
Silva threw a leg kick, Weidman checked the kick and Silva immediately fell to the canvas, his leg splayed awkwardly, breaking the tibia and fibula in his left leg,
Silva underwent surgery and remained in a Las Vegas hospital.
The UFC estimated his recovery time to be as long as six months.
Now questions will be raised about his future and whether or not he can return or if this starts his retirement.
They said it ...
Headline from Fark.com, linking to a story reporting that Washington Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan is expected to be fired today: “Looks like Shanahan’s getting Canahanned.”
Golfer Fred Couples to Golfweek Magazine on the PGA’s upcoming ban on belly putters: “I don’t think my stroke will be horrible. I’ll still miss 4-footers.”Quote of the day “We’re going to change up the Gatorade flavor.
... We’re going to change our travel sweats. We’re
going to change, at the
hotel, the beefy mac [and cheese] recipe the night before, just kind of give it a little extra kick.” New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, on what the Saints need to do to improve on the road.
Sports, Pages 16 on 12/30/2013