Strikeforce: Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey

Post-Post Update: Rousey wrecked Miesha Tate’s arm. Check it out here!

The Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title is on the line tonight in the biggest women’s MMA fight since Cris Cyborg beat up Gina Carano. To the outside, mainstream world, Tate vs. Rousey doesn’t have anywhere near the juice that Cyborg – Carano had. To MMA fans, this is big though. Rousey has brought an attitude to this fight that is usually reserved for the male of the species.

Rousey’s credentials are legitimate. If she hadn’t quite earned the title shot on her work as an Olympic judo wrestler and professional arm-snapper, her mouth got her there. Tate has won five straight fights and is coming off a submission victory over Marloes Coenen last July. With Gina making movies and Cyborg serving a steroid suspension, the winner of this fight has no choice but to become the face of WMMA.

The rest of the card is filled with the usual Strikeforce faces. K.J. Noons and Jacare will be there. Josh Thomson returns for his first fight in more than a year. Paul Daley returns to Strikeforce for the first time since back-to-back loses to Nick Diaz and Tyron Woodley in the middle of 2011. And Scott Smith is back yet again. Smith has lost 4 of 5 and three straight. You have to appreciate a man without a backup plan.

Main Card – Showtime – 10pm
Miesha Tate (12-2, 5-1 SF) vs. Ronda Rousey (4-0, 2-0 SF)
K.J. Noons (11-4, 3-2 SF) vs. Josh Thomson (18-4, 1nc, 10-1 SF)
Paul Daley (29-11-2, 1-2 SF) vs. Kazuo Misaki (24-11-2, 1nc, 1-0 SF)
Bristol Marunde (12-6, SF debut) vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (14-3, 4-1 SF)
Lumumba Sayers (5-2, 1-1 SF) vs. Scott Smith (17-9, 3-4 SF)

Prelims – Showtime Extreme – 8pm
Alexis Davis vs. Sarah Kaufman
Caros Fodor vs. Pat Healy
Ryan Couture vs. Conor Heun
Roger Bowling vs. Brandon Saling