With uncertain future of women's MMA, Strikeforce's Tate ready to win over bosses

Women's MMA isn't playing with a blank checkbook, and Miesha Tate knows that.

Four months after the acquisition of Strikeforce by UFC parent company Zuffa LLC, an uncertain future awaits the women who fight for the promotion, to say nothing of the promotion itself. Official assurances have been made that they'll continue to be on the big stage. But when the parent company's attitude toward women's is skeptical, it's hard not to see trouble on the horizon.

Tate (11-2 MMA, 4-1 SF) and her champion counterpart, Marloes Coenen (19-4 MMA, 3-1 SF), are then left with the task of convincing Zuffa that women's MMA is a viable part of Strikeforce's future. And when they meet Saturday in the co-main event of "Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Henderson," Tate, for her part, is planning to do that when she vies for Coenen's welterweight belt.

"I think especially since we've merged under the Zuffa umbrella that we're going to be getting a lot more eyes watching us, and I think this is going to be a big mile marker in the evolution of women's MMA," she said during a press conference in support of the event, which takes place at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill. (Its main card airs live on Showtime.)

The biggest marker, of course, took place almost two years ago when women's MMA superstar Gina Carano took on Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos for the women's middleweight title. The fight drew 856,000 viewers to Showtime, a number that trumped many cards headlined by men. Since that banner event, women's bouts have played second or even third fiddle on fight cards. They've nonetheless put on entertaining fights, and Tate has undoubtedly played a part in that.

But as talented as the fighters are, their level of exposure pales in comparison to that of Carano, who was expected to return to the Strikeforce cage this past month before an undisclosed medical issue prevented her from doing so.

UFC president Dana White has frequently said that there aren't enough talented female fighters to promote entire divisions. Tate and Coenen obviously disagree with that, but they can't really do anything other than do the job to the best of their abilities and hope to convince the UFC figurehead otherwise.

Thus, Saturday is an important night. The eyes of Strikeforce's parent company will be on Showtime, and a good impression could go a long way. The promotional weight of Zuffa LLC is also behind the women, if not directly than by association.

There's no way to know whether minds are already made up, though.

"We're going to have two talented, top 135-pound representatives, and I think Marloes and myself are going to put on a great fight," Tate said. "It's just important that we do so.

"I'm really motivated to be exciting, to be entertaining, and I'm hoping for a war so that we can really say that this is what women's MMA is all about. So it's definitely important."