UFC women's bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey retained her belt and continued her streak of armbar victories by submitting Miesha Tate for the second time with her submission of choice in the co-main event at UFC 168.
Rousey threatened Tate several times with submissions in the first two rounds before finally tapping her out with her patented armbar 58 seconds into the third round.
Rousey improved to 7-0 with seven armbars, six of which have come in the first round.
What We'll Remember About This Fight
Although it was a relatively one-sided affair, Rousey and Tate put on an entertaining scrap for the better part of 11 minutes.
She had Tate on the defensive from the onset, scoring with slams and throws and threatening the former Strikeforce champ with armbars and triangle chokes.
"Rowdy" caught "Cupcake" in yet another armbar and finally broke her spirit with a textbook submission attempt early in the third round. This time, Tate conceded and tapped with 4:02 to go in the third round to solidify Rousey's second UFC title defense.
What We Learned About Rousey
Even with her emotions running high, Rowdy has the ability to keep her composure and execute a game plan to trump top-flight competition.
Rousey turned Tate's grappling aggression against her, scoring numerous judo-style throws and takedowns because of the Washington native's pressure.
Like she did in their first meeting, the champ also displayed masterful patience in waiting for the proper opportunity to cinch up an armbar and end the bout.
What We Learned About Tate
Tate possesses resiliency and grit, even though she's obviously an inferior grappler to Rousey.
In the same vein, Rousey exemplified how even the toughest fighters have a breaking point. Tate defended the first handful of submissions from Rousey, but eventually the champ's persistence wore her down.
What's Next For Rousey?
Since Rousey fights less often than any other UFC women's bantamweight, it only seems natural that the champ will wait for a bout with Cat Zingano.
Zingano, the UFC's top-ranked women's bantamweight who TKO'd Tate at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, underwent knee surgery over the summer and plans to return soon.
What's Next For Tate?
Since 2010, Tate, the UFC's second-ranked women's bantamweight, has only suffered losses to Rousey (twice) and Zingano.
With that said, anticipate another Top Five opponent for her in her next outing. Alexis Davis or Sarah McMann would both represent worthy adversaries.
