Miesha Tate dismisses that MMA community turned its back on Ronda Rousey: “Thousands of little girls idolized her!”

UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey’s former rival, Miesha Tate, feels the former bantamweight titleholder is still revered by many MMA fans.

Tate and Rousey competed against one another twice during their MMA careers, with Rousey earning wins in both matchups. After coaching opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter 18 before Rousey defeated Tate in their rematch by third-round submission.

Since her MMA retirement, Rousey has shared a strained relationship with many UFC fans. She recently revealed that she refuses to attend any UFC events because she believes she’ll be booed.

Rousey accused MMA media and fans of calling her a “fraud” after consecutive losses to end her UFC tenure. Tate, who has a checkered history with Rousey, feels Rousey’s stance against the MMA community isn’t valid.

Miesha Tate opines on Ronda Rousey’s post-UFC career reception

In a recent episode of SiriusXM’s MMA Today, Tate weighed in on some of Rousey’s recent remarks.

“I personally don’t have the animosity that I had for Ronda [Rousey] at one point,” Tate said of Rousey. “The disdain, the frustration, I’ve been able to work through those things and see my fault in it and try to be a better person. I wish that I could say that I saw the same growth from Ronda, but it doesn’t seem that way. It certainly seems that she’s holding on to the resentment, the frustration, and the anger, and allowing it to dictate her next moves…

“I do not think the MMA community, in large part, ever turned their back on Ronda…she forgot that there were hundreds of thousands of little girls around the world that still [idolize] her. They didn’t care if she won or lost, they thought she was amazing either way…I think she’s very focused on self, instead of self-growth.”

Rousey retired from MMA after a loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. Before that, she suffered her first career loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193.

Tate remains active in her UFC career with a recent win over Julia Avila in December. A timeline for her next UFC fight remains uncertain as of this writing.

Rousey became the first female inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018.