Miesha Tate has been understandably frustrated since the UFC gave a title shot to Holly Holm after they promised the shot to Tate for defeating Jessica Eye at ‘UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Barao II’ earlier this year.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan spoke on his podcast about the situation, saying:
“That’s one of the bad things about the UFC that people don’t like. There isn’t any clear structure. When Miesha Tate won she was virtually guaranteed a shot at the title. ‘Beat Jessica Eye, you’ve got a shot at the title.’ She beats Jessica Eye, ‘Eh, listen, you’re not ready for that.’ What?
“She made some interview recently where she said she should probably think about what she’s going to do when she retires. That she should probably at least consider that. Whoa. She’s thinking about retiring?”
Tate has fought and lost to Rousey twice, but is still widely believed to be the #2 women’s bantamweight fighter on the UFC roster. In addition Tate is one of the most recognizable female fighters on the roster behind Rousey, but that doesn’t mean they make equal amounts of money.
“That’s an interesting thing when you look at the No. 1 person in the division, which is clearly Ronda, who made I think like $6 million last year[6.5 according to Forbes], something crazy like that, and that’s in fighting. Forget about all the ads she’s doing. A million different commercials. She’s probably made that much on top of that. She’s making f***ing truck loads of money.
“Then there’s Miesha Tate, who is the No. 2 girl in the division. Even though she’s lost to Ronda three[sic] times, she’s the No. 2 girl in the division. How much do you think she makes? It’s a small fraction.”
“It’s not like she’s not hot. She’s hot as f**k, right? She’s got a beautiful body. Great ass. Sorry I said that. Sorry, Miesha. All due respect, but she’s a great fighter, too. She’s very tough. Miesha probably makes a very small fraction of what Ronda makes and she’s elite. She’s an outstanding fighter. She’s tough as shit and people love her. It’s weird.”