UFC offered her the fight against Rin Nakai at this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 52 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. “Cupcake” was Tate’s initial feeling about the Nakai fight.
MORE: Fight Night 52 full slate | Dollaway headlines Fight Night 58
“It came out of left field as far as I was concerned,” Tate told Sporting News. “The idea of fighting Rin Nakai was not at all what I thought was going to be next on the horizon for me. I was scouting other girls thinking, ‘it could be this person, it could be that person, it could be this girl.’ "
Nakai wasn’t the first candidate Tate was planning for. Nakai wasn’t even on her radar for potential opponents.
“Rin was the furthest thought for a fight,” Tate said. “I followed Rin’s career for quite sometime. She used to fight at 145. Like I said, she’s kind of flown under the radar for awhile, so I knew of her, but I didn’t think that was going to be a potential candidate to fight. So when the UFC presented me with that (Nakai) fight, I was like, ‘What? What do you mean Rin Nakai? She’s still active, she’s still fighting at 135, what’s going on?’ "
Despite her inital reaction, Tate reevaluated and eventually saw some positives from the situation.
“At first, I didn’t understand why (UFC) would want to come over to Japan and fight on a Fight Pass card and fight a relatively unknown fighter to the mass fan base,” she said. “But then I started looking at the big picture and I actually felt pretty honored the UFC would want me to come over here and put on a historical fight in Japan. It’s the first time a women’s mixed martial arts fight has been put on by the UFC in Japan. I’m all about expanding women’s MMA, supporting women’s MMA and I think they (UFC) chose me because they knew I would come over to Japan and do just that.”
Once Tate realized this, beating Nakai is her top priority.
“That’s my goal and this Saturday,” Tate said. “I have a job to do, to go out there and beat Rin and put on a great fight. Once I signed on the dotted line, that was it and (Nakai) has had my entire focus since then.”
To some, this fight may be a lose-lose situation for the former Strikeforce women’s banatmweight champion considering she is ranked No. 2 in the UFC women’s bantamweight division and Nakai is unranked. Tate disagrees with that assessment and feels a lot can be earned in this fight.
“I definitely don’t think its a lose-lose because anytime you win, that’s winning, period,” Tate said. “It is another win on my record, its another solid payday and its a great opportunity for exposure. A lot of people don’t understand this is a historical moment for women’s MMA. I’m excited to come over to here (Japan) and represent. However, I don’t feel that I would gain as much as Rin would if she were to win. I think that would catapult her career and potentially give her a title shot immediately because I’m ranked number two in the world and I’ve built a name and I’m starting to build an empire around myself. A lot of girls want to fight me, they want what I have and want to take that away from me.
“I’ve worked really hard to be in the position that I’m in and I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon. I think that giving Rin Nakai her first defeat, she’s 16-0, so to be that one to give her that one blemish on her record and see that I was the first and only person to defeat her is huge. If I can really put a stamp on this and make it an excellent showing on my part, its a good argument to make to Sean Shelby, the matchmakers, Dana (White) and Lorenzo (Fertitta) that I’m headed in the right direction to get another shot at the strap.”
You can watch UFC Fight Night 52 Saturday morning starting at 12:30 a.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass.
Steven Muehlhausen is an experienced MMA writer and contributor for Sporting News. Find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.
