According to a March 7 report from MMA Fighting, the winner of the Apr. 13 scrap between Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano will likely receive the opportunity to fight UFC champ Ronda Rousey.
"We're going to see who wins that fight, and more than likely, she’ll face the winner," UFC boss Lorenzo Fertitta said. "So I think she’s got a lot of interest in seeing that outcome."
If all else fails, there's a lengthy list of bantamweights waiting in the wings for a shot at Rousey. Sara McMann, Alexis Davis, Sheila Gaff and Julie Kedzie may be in the mix for a title fight against the star judoka, but there's one name notably absent from the conversation -- MMA legend Tara LaRosa.
No one seems to be talking about LaRosa deserving a spot in the UFC's newly-formed bantamweight division because she looked a bit sluggish in her Invicta FC 3 fight against Vanessa Porto, where she dropped a unanimous decision on the judge's scorecards.
While it's true the 35-year-old was not on her A-game that evening, her full body of work should be considered. LaRosa is 21-3 over the past 11 years, including notable wins over Kedzie, Shayna Baszler, Hitomi Akano, Amanda Buckner, Alexis Davis and others.
She is one of the pioneers of women's MMA, and widely considered to be one of the top three female fighters of all-time.
For proof that the UFC likes to play up the storyline of "legend vs up-and-comer," one needs only to look at fights such as Rich Franklin vs Ken Shamrock, Matt Hughes vs Royce Gracie and Miguel Torres vs Michael McDonald.
It's a tried-and-true formula that resulted in some of the most memorable fights in UFC history. LaRosa helped build the sport, so it's only fair that she receives at least one shot fighting under the bright lights of the top pro MMA organization in the world.
Besides the "legend vs up-and-comer" angle, there's always the fact that LaRosa and Rousey have a legitimate personal feud that dates back over a year.
The two went back-and-forth on Twitter last year, as LaRosa called Rousey a disrespectful "newb." Rousey shot back by telling LaRosa to move up to 135 pounds so that she could shut her up.
Rousey vs LaRosa is a fight that needs to happen before the legend calls it a career.
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