Sherdog’s Top 10: Non Pay-Per-View Main Events

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10. Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey
Strikeforce “Tate vs. Rousey” | March 3, 2012 -- Columbus, Ohio
Showtime
In recent months, women’s mixed martial arts has made huge strides, but without the will of Rousey, the resilience of Tate and the obvious disdain the two had -- and continue to have -- for one another, it is quite possible that progress might not have been so accelerated.

Rousey’s ascent to the top of the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight division was rapid. After four first-round armbar finishes, including two on the promotion’s Challengers circuit, “Rowdy” was granted a shot at Tate. It did not sit well with the champion.

“She just hasn’t accomplished what a lot of the other girls that I’ve already fought have accomplished, yet she’s kind of jumping ahead of a few of them,” Tate told Sherdog.com before the fight. “I don’t necessarily feel that that’s right, but the thing about Ronda is what she does do she’s really good at ...”

Rousey, of course, offered no apologies.

“If you’re not going to take every single avenue to try to sell yourself, if you’re only going to do it on performance only, then it’s going to take longer,” the Olympic judoka said. “If your performances aren’t that exciting and your interviews aren’t that exciting and the way you present yourself isn’t all that interesting, why do you expect people to want to see you fighting?”

It turned out to be a pretty good show while it lasted. Tate survived longer than any previous Rousey opponent but eventually was forced to tap out to the inevitable armbar at the 4:27 mark of round one. However, “Cupcake” earned plenty of accolades by aggressively attacking her foe and somehow escaping Rousey’s first armbar attempt. It is probably no coincidence that a little more than a year later women’s bantamweights are entrenched on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster.

Number 9 » Huerta vs. Guida