Exclusive: Interview with Miesha Tate

Originally posted on FightTicker.com

On May 13th many people thought they were going to see Kim Couture facing Miesha Tate. Although Kim’s name recognition meant a lot for this fight she has pulled out and was replaced by Sarah Kaufman. For those of you who don’t know either Tate or Kaufman, let me tell you -- this should be a war!

Tate is one of the top wrestlers in the division and Kaufman has shown great striking in her fights so this should be a very tactical fight.

I have been friends with Miesha for a long time now and had the chance to ask her a few questions about this fight by email. This interview was conducted before Couture officially pulled out of the fight.

FightTicker.com: First off thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions this close to your fight… Being a young wrestler myself, you are someone that has influenced my dedication to my wrestling and MMA. With that said do you think the number of girls that are joining wrestling teams will grow due to MMA’s influence?

Meisha Tate: I do think there will be more women joining wrestling teams because of MMA and vice versa, and I think the same goes for men. Wrestling is a huge part of MMA because it allows you to dictate where the fight goes

FightTicker.com: We share a sponsor in Tussle Fight Gear…As do a growing number of female fighters and future bangers. How has sponsorship changed for you, and females, since you started?

Tate: Tussle Fight Gear has been by far the most supportive sponsor I have and they are huge fans and supporters of women’s MMA. Right now the economy is bad so sponsorships are harder to get but overall I think we have more sponsors supporting women then we did when I first started fighting in 2006.

FightTicker.com: Have you changed your training routine for your upcoming fight with Kim, or do you keep your training regimen about the same?

Tate: Actually Kim backed out of the fight with me and I am now set to fight Sarah Kaufman as a replacement. My game plan is a little different for this fight and I'm training very hard because it is a very important fight for me!

FightTicker.com: How does your typical week go as far as training?

Tate: I train twice a day, either running in the morning or working out with my new personal trainer Jody Dolphin who creates explosive strength training/cardio workouts that cater to MMA. Then I train in the evenings doing anything and everything involving MMA; sometimes we isolate just kickboxing or grappling but mostly we just get in there and fight each other! I usually take one day off a week, either Saturday or Sunday.

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