Miesha Tate confident Holly Holm rematch ‘will never die’ — ‘It’s like Diaz-Conor 3’

Miesha Tate captured the women’s bantamweight title with a thrilling, come-from-behind submission victory over Holly Holm in the UFC 196 co-main event. “Cupcake” would later lose the 135-pound strap to division juggernaut Amanda Nunes, while “The Preacher’s Daughter” dropped her next two fights.

Now that Tate is back from her short-lived retirement, it seems like a Holm rematch would present itself sooner, rather than later. Especially considering “The Preacher’s Daughter” is currently ranked No. 2 in the division and always one or two wins away from yet another bantamweight title shot.

“It wasn’t Holly for the reason that I feel like that’s like a golden egg fight,” Tate recently told The MMA Hour. “That’s like a fight that we could do at any time, any point, it’ll never die. It’s like Diaz-Conor 3 — it’s like it’s always kind of available and there. So I wanted my next fight to be a proper climb in the rankings. I don’t want to come in and insult the division. I don’t want to come in and say, ‘Oh, I should be fighting a Top-1 or Top-2,’ and Holly, she’s ranked No. 2.”

Tate (19-7) returned to MMA with a submission victory over Marion Reneau at UFC Vegas 31 back in July. It was the first time the 35 year-old “Cupcake” has seen action since her 2016 loss to division stalwart Raquel Pennington. Next on the docket is a 135-pound showdown opposite Ketlen Vieira in the UFC Vegas 40 main event in October.

“In my mind, the way that I have this played out, that I really want it to be, is that I win the title and then Holly fights me for the title,” Tate continued. “That would be like my perfect storm, my perfect scenario. But you know what? Either way, before this is all said and done, Holly and I will fight each other. I’m not dodging her. She’s great and everything, I appreciate her, but I think time and place is very important. So right now that’s not the fight we’re looking for, but we’ll get there eventually. Hopefully when I’m the champion she’ll be able to challenge me for the belt.”

Holm (14-5) will compete on the same card as Tate when she battles once-beaten Brazilian bruiser Norma Dumont. The 39 year-old “Preacher’s Daughter” is coming off back-to-back wins for the first time in over five years and could secure another crack at the bantamweight crown with an impressive performance over “The Immortal.”

Or a potential rematch against Tate.