According to a Feb. 13 report from MMA Junkie, Miesha Tate's manager thinks his fighter deserves equal credit for the UFC women's division as Ronda Rousey.
"If Ronda is the reason why Dana (White) decided to do the women's division, then Ronda gets the credit for it," Tate's manager Malki Kawa told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "But Muhammed Ali was nobody without (Joe) Frazier. I think Ronda is nobody without Miesha. If it wasn't for that Tate/Rousey beef, I don't think we have a women's division. So I give just as much credit to Miesha as I do Ronda."
Kawa has a point. UFC President Dana White admitted the Rousey vs Tate Strikeforce bout in 2012 completely changed his own personal opinion on women's MMA.
If the bout wasn't as competitive, would there still be a women's division in the UFC today? No one can say for sure, but it's clear that Tate had plenty to do with it.
"When it comes to stuff outside the cage, to me, she's just as marketable as Ronda," Kawa said. "There's really no difference between the two, except for the fact that right now Ronda is the champion and Miesha is not. But Miesha has got a lot of projects, and you guys are going to hear big things from Miesha."
Rousey is slated to fight Liz Carmouche on Feb. 23 in the main event of UFC 157, while Tate fights Cat Zingano on Apr. 13 at the TUF 17 finale.
While it's not official from the UFC, Tate and Rousey will likely engage in their long-awaited rematch if they win their respective upcoming matchups.
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