UFC 168: Rousey Heavily Favored In Rematch With Tate
MMA fighters Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate have a longstanding rivalry that dates back to 2011. A feud that started on social media ultimately moved into the ring in March 2012, when the two headlined a Strikeforce event. The matchup received a particularly heavy dose of media attention because female fighters are rarely featured as the main event.
Although their first fight didn’t make it beyond the first round, ultimately it did live up to the hype. Rousey tried to take Tate down early with an armbar—which has since become her signature move—but she was able to escape and retaliate. The pair battled back-and-forth for over four minutes before Rousey secured an armbar and forced Tate to submit at 4:27.
The takedown was particularly brutal and resulted in torn ligaments and muscles that required significant recovery time for Tate. Despite losing, many gave Tate kudos for the toughness she displayed in her unwillingness to submit earlier. Of course, she likely sustained additional damage to her elbow because of that delay.
The events of that day set the stage for the events upcoming on Saturday night at UFC 168. There is, quite simply, no love lost between these two women. Tate maintains her opponent is an “emotionally unstable” one trick (armbar) pony. While Rousey prefers her trash talking blows to land substantially south of the proverbial belt.
“She had an embarrassing and bad performance against Julie Kedzie…she lost an got dropped by an below by Cat Zingano. She was getting beat pretty bad, then Cat hurt her knee. Miesha has a nice ass and an ongoing rivalry with me and that’s the only reason she was picked for this fight. … I’m an Olympic athlete and she’s a high school wrestler. She has to make it personal because she can’t make it an athletic rivalry because there really is no comparison.”
Um. Ouch?
These two have continued to throw fuel on their fiery feud by serving as coaches on the 18th season of Fox’s The Ultimate Fighter, with their rematch at UFC 168 being the culmination of a very dramatic season of TUF.
Having Rousey and Tate slug it out in the octagon is, perhaps, the most fitting finale in the history of reality television.
Tate is hungry for revenge and Rousey is confident this story will end much the same as the first. We’ll have to wait another day to see how this plays out, but Las Vegas odds makers are pretty confident in one of these ladies—and it’s not the one looking to settle a score.
Rousey is the prohibitive favorite in Sin City, with the oddsmakers giving her an 88 percent chance of besting Tate. Less definitive, however, are the how and when. Here’s the comprehensive breakdown of all the betting lines for the Rousey-Tate rematch:
UFC 168 – MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title  Â
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey                   2/15    (-750)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate           19/4    (+475)
Method of Victory
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey wins inside distance           1/6   (-600)
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey wins by 5 round decision       9/1   (+900)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate wins inside distance           6/1   (+600)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate wins by 5 round decision       10/1   (+1000)
- Draw                                         75/1   (+7500)
Method of Victory    Â
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey wins by decision or technical decision    9/1   (+900)
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey wins by KO, TKO or DQ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7/1 Â Â (+700)
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey wins by submission                  1/4   (-400)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate wins by decision or technical decision   10/1   (+1000)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate wins by KO, TKO or DQ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 12/1 Â Â (+1200)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate wins by submission                 10/1   (+1000)
- Draw or Technical draw                                  75/1    (+7500)
Round Betting (5 Rounds)Â Â Â Â
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey in Round 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 5/6 Â Â (-120)
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey in Round 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 11/4 Â Â (+275)
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey in Round 3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8/1 Â Â (+800)
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey in Round 4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 14/1 Â Â (+1400)
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey in Round 5Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 25/1 Â Â Â (+2500)
- Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey on points          9/1    (+900)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate in Round 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 14/1 Â Â (+1400)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate in Round 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 20/1 Â Â (+2000)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate in Round 3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 28/1 Â Â (+2800)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate in Round 4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 40/1 Â Â (+4000)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate in Round 5Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 45/1 Â Â (+4500)
- Miesha “Cupcake” Tate on points                  10/1   (+1000)
- Draw                                 75/1   (+7500)
Fight to complete 1 full round       Â
- Yes (Fight completes 1 full round)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 10/13Â Â (-130)
- No (Fight does not complete 1 full round)Â Â Â Â 10/11Â Â (-110)
Fight to complete 2 full rounds
- Yes (Fight completes 2 full rounds)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 5/2Â Â Â Â Â Â (+250)
- No (Fight does not complete 2 full rounds)Â Â 1/4Â Â Â Â Â Â (-400)
Fight to complete 3 full rounds
- Yes (Fight completes 3 full rounds) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4/1Â Â Â Â Â Â (+400)
- No (Fight does not complete 3 full rounds)Â Â 2/15Â Â Â Â (-750)
Fight to complete 4 full rounds
- Yes (Fight completes 4 full rounds) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 5/1Â Â Â Â Â Â (+500)
- No (Fight does not complete 4 full rounds)Â Â 1/10Â Â Â Â (-1000)
Will the fight go the distance?
- Yes (Fight goes the distance) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6/1Â Â Â Â Â Â (+600)
- No (Fight does not go the distance)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1/16Â Â Â Â (-1600)
Total Rounds
- Over Rounds                         O 1½  31/20  (+155)
- Under Rounds                                               U 1½  5/11    (-220)
