Despite Strikeforce champ's opening salvo, Miesha Tate not making it personal
by Steven Marrocco on Jun 20, 2011 at 8:05 pm ET
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If there's bad blood between Marloes Coenen and Meisha Tate, it isn't coming from Tate.
The women's welterweight challenger is aware that the champ isn't too fond of her, and she plans to ignore the drama.
"I don't think that she knows me well enough to say anything," Tate told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "So I feel like it's just going to be her trying to hype the fight."
The two are scheduled to meet July 30 at "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson," which takes place at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Its main card, including the Coenen vs. Tate title fight, airs live on Showtime.
Tate (11-2 MMA, 3-1 SF) originally was scheduled to fight Coenen (19-4 MMA, 3-1 SF) in March at "Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson" before a knee injury scuttled her title opportunity. Coenen went on to fight Liz Carmouche and retain her belt with a come-from-behind victory. But beforehand, she made it pretty clear that a future fight with Tate is about more than just a good challenge.
"It would have been a very good fight ... because she's presenting herself as being a cute girl ... and I present myself a different way," Coenen said. "Let's put it like that."
Tate has heard the comments and isn't quite sure why the champ is so bent out of shape.
"I think to each his own in the way we choose to present ourselves," she said. "I definitely don't think she should base her opinion of my fighting ability on my presentation at all because she'll be sorely mistaken."
With a month of training under her belt, there's not glitz and glamour for Tate these days. After six weeks on the bench, she returned to the gym in anticipation of a fight with Coenen. Although she suffered "a tear" in her knee, she rehabbed the injury without surgery and said she's back to her old self in training.
And with her 25th birthday around the corner, Tate feels like she's only getting better.
"Now that I'm already in great shape, I can really apply a gameplan every day," she said. "I don't have to spend my camp trying to get in shape or lose weight. It's all about sharpening the skillset that I've already developed."
Of course, Tate's strong suit is in the grappling department, and Coenen's is in the standup realm, so it's not hard to figure out where both are focusing their efforts.
What's certain is that the challenger isn't getting caught up in the hype.
"I have nothing against Marloes personally," Tate said. "I think she's a great representative of women's MMA. She's a pioneer; she's been fighting for 10 or more years. I respect her as an athlete. I have nothing bad to say about her on a personal level."
If Coenen chooses to make it personal, Tate said she won't respond.
"Maybe she's trying to stir the pot a little bit, but it's not really registering to me," she said. "I'm just focused about training, and I'm in good spirits about the fight."
For more on the "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson"event, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
