On Saturday night, Miesha Tate had to overcome some early adversity before asserting her dominance over Jessica Eye. Coming into this fight Tate had a lot to prove. Eye had emerged as an interesting potential title challenger for Ronda Rousey and many felt that she was a stylistic nightmare for Tate, but they were wrong. Despite struggling with Eye’s striking early, Tate soon found her rhythm on the feet and was able to rock Eye on multiple occasions, en-route to a dominant decision victory.
Official result: Miesha Tate def. Jessica Eye via unanimous decision (30-27×3).
What was the high point of the fight?
Tate has faced some criticism over recent years for inability to finish fights, but she doesn’t deserve any criticism for Saturday night’s performance. From the opening round onward Tate landed cleanly and consistently with her right hand. It is a testament to Eye’s durability that she managed to stay in the fight despite being rocked at various points throughout the fight. The high point of this fight was without doubt Tate’s beautiful right hand in the first round.
Where do these two go from here?
It’s time for Tate to potentially face her most famous foe once again. Ronda Rousey faces Bethe Correia next Saturday night and if Rousey wins, as expected, her next opponent will be Tate. She has brought out the best in Rousey, Giving the champ her sternest test to date in their second bout, but the fan interest in this 3rd fight is almost non-existent.
This defeat will benefit Eye. Losing against Tate isn’t anything to be ashamed of – after all Tate is without doubt the second best fighter in her division. Even in defeat Eye showed some glimpses of greatness. Her talent is obvious and all she needs is to put her skills together. I firmly believe Eye has what it takes to make it to a title fight in the future. Expect her to come back a much improved fighter.
Watch now, later, or never?
Watch this one right now. This fight was really fun to watch.