Miesha Tate vs Jessica Eye Official For UFC On FOX 16 On July 25Bantamweight contenders Miesha “Cupcake” Tate and Jessica “Evil” Eye are officially set to face off on July 25th at UFC on FOX 16: “Dillashaw vs Barao 2” in Chicago, Illinois. The potential 135-pound title eliminator, which was initially targeted for June, was announced by UFC officials today.

Tate has racked up three straight victories since she suffered her second submission loss to current UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey at UFC 168. Eye has tasted defeat just one time inside the Octagon and she looks to earn a title shot by upsetting Tate in Chicago.

Tate (16-5-0) appeared to be on the brink of dropping out of the title picture entirely following her second loss to Rousey in late 2013, but the talented wrestler rebounded with a pair of three-round decision wins over Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche and Rin Nakai this past year. At UFC 183 in January, Tate overcame a rough first round against Olympic medallist Sara McMann and rallied to take a close and competitive Majority Decision victory. The crucial win put Tate back on a short list of title contenders, but she faces another solid test when she takes on Eye in July.

Eye (11-2-0, 1 ND) brought a seven-fight winning streak into her October 2013 Octagon debut at UFC 166, which initially ended in a Split Decision victory over former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman. The result of the fight was later overturned when Eye tested positive for marijuana metabolites. Her next UFC fight ended in a razor-thin loss to Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis at UFC 170, but Eye most recently picked up a second-round TKO victory over Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith at UFC 180 when the doctor stopped the fight due to a gruesome injury to Smith’s ear.

The bout between Tate and Eye is expected to determine the next challenger for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship, which will be up for grabs on August 1st when Rousey defends her title against unbeaten Brazilian rising star Bethe “Pitbull” Correia at UFC 190.

UFC on FOX 16: “Dillashaw vs Barao 2” takes place on July 25th at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The event is headlined by a twice-delayed UFC Bantamweight Championship rematch between T.J. Dillashaw and Renan “Barao” Pegado.

 

 

(Photo Credit: UFC)

  1. Love this match-up… I think Eye takes it… she will be stronger than Tate, faster and won’t be taken down easily. Standing, it’s all Eye.

  2. I agree totally. It will be a great match-up, but Eye is much faster than Tate and much better footwork. I doubt it will ever get to the ground. Styles make fights and unfortunately this is a nightmare matchup style-wise for Tate. I think it will be a replay of Jessica Eye vs. Leslie Smith, only much, much worse. Tate is so unbelievably tough that she will absorb a massive beating without quitting. I predict a one-sided 2nd round stoppage via strikes for Eye.