LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 28: (L-R) Miesha Tate punches Ronda Rousey in their UFC women's bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 168 event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on December 28, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Miesha Tate has never been Ronda Rousey's biggest fan, and the incident that occurred recently between the former women's bantamweight champion and strawweight contender Paige VanZant only served to prove why she has such a disdain for her longtime rival.
Just before UFC 197, VanZant and Rousey were participating in an event for Reebok and, according to several sources, the two of them were supposed to take a photo together when an altercation erupted.
Rousey allegedly confronted VanZant for congratulating Holly Holm on her knockout victory over the former champion at UFC 193 last year and it led to an expletive-filled rant in front of a room full of people.
Tate says that incident just prove what she's long believed about Rousey's instability. And while it doesn't take away from her ability to fight, it certainly makes her a less enjoyable person to be around.
I think Ronda is somewhat emotionally unstable and I think that's been a characteristic for a long time. -- Miesha Tate
"Doesn't mean she fights any worse for it. I'm not knocking her as an athlete but emotionally she's just got some things that are a little bit strange and I think that that was one of them," Tate told Sirius XM this week.
"I feel like you can tell a lot about a person who, if they're nice to people that they don't have to be nice to or if they're not nice to people that they don't have to be nice to, and I feel like things that sometimes people don't see on the massive media outlets is the way Ronda is behind scenes."
The altercation with VanZant is just one snapshot in time that Tate believes is part of a larger problem with Rousey that most people don't get to see.
That behavior is why Tate is not friendly with Rousey, and chances are they will never put the rivalry behind them even after their fighting careers are finished.
"This is just one example. This is a big reason why Ronda and I don't get along," Tate said. "It's not even the career, it's the difference in our personal perspectives. That's why we have the rivalry. We just happen to also be in the same profession and fighting in the same weight class and that's what people are really interested in but truly this is where I disagree with Ronda the most."
On the flipside, Tate says she admires VanZant for her attitude after the incident with Rousey occurred.
VanZant has stated that she holds no ill will toward Rousey and has "nothing but love" for the former champion, despite the outburst she suffered through a few weeks ago.
"This is why I feel like I identify with Paige more. She's so kind and when this whole thing happened she was like, 'we're emotional beings and hopefully I can make it right with Ronda" and she's still such a sweetheart but I'm not that way," Tate said.
"When Ronda does things like that to me I'm just like, 'No, eff you.' I'm not gonna bow down and not say how I feel."
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