Miesha Tate wanted to be the one to show the world how to take out Valentina Shevchenko. When Shevchenko dropped her name at the post-fight press conference, the former bantamweight champ declared herself the “uncrowned queen” of the flyweight division, where she has yet to make her Octagon debut.
“I know that she wants to fight me – it’s no secret. I feel like everybody wants to fight me. I’m the uncrowned queen. I’ve got the target on my back almost as big as any champion. Everybody wants to take out the ‘Cupcake.’ But we’re going to get it done on July 2, and I think Valentina and I will lock horns. That’s the plan.”
Tate described the aura of invincibility surrounding Valentina, and how her surprisingly lacklustre performance at UFC 275 – later revealed to be the product of a foot injury – exposed Valentina in a way that Tate hoped to do herself. If Shevchenko no longer looks indestructible, how does this affect Miesha Tate?
Miesha Tate Reacts to Shevchenko Callout: “I’m The Uncrowned Queen”
“The worst part is I already knew this. Now, the rest of the world knows it. I already believe this. I didn’t want Valentina to look any less indestructible. I wanted her to stay where everybody thought she was so unbeatable, because I already knew I could do that.
“So for me, it’s kind of like, ah, it’s been shown. Now, people are going to believe in me more to be able to do it. I didn’t want that. I wanted to be the massive underdog. I wanted everybody to count me out. I wanted nobody to think Miesha Tate, five years retired, two kids, coming back 2-1 in the UFC, would be able to take out Valentina Shevchenko. But now, I think people can see a little bit of what I’ve been saying holds some water. I don’t know if that benefits me, but either way, the game plan hasn’t changed […]
Valentina Shevchenko is such a dominant champion. It is so difficult to do. I didn’t have a successful [title] defense. I just have so much respect for all these women and athletes who are able to successfully defend again and again, because going in there with the imagery that she had, this happens in fights, and you’re always fighting the next best person, the next hungriest person who’s been taking out all the competition.
So it’s no easy task. So I have a tremendous amount of respect for her. But legacy wise, that’s going to take the cake for me.”
Do you think Miesha Tate will be the one to dethrone the Bullet? Let us know in the comments.
