Miesha Tate isn’t going to entertain the idea that another fight with women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey is off the table.

But if the UFC says it is, at least for the meantime, Tate (14-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has another idea in mind if she gets past Rin Nakai (16-0-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 52 event, which takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

“Beating her is definitely a step in the right direction for me,” Tate told MMAjunkie Radio. “But I don’t know exactly where that puts me. I hope it means I’m getting closer to a title shot one more time, and if that’s good enough, I’ll take the title shot. If not, I’d like to face Cat Zingano again.”

Zingano’s third-round TKO of Tate in April 2013 remains a sore spot for the former Strikeforce champ and onetime UFC challenger, who blasted referee Kim Winslow for stopping the bout amid a barrage of elbows and knees.

Tate wants to leave no doubt the second time around, though she might be forced to wait to avenge the loss. When Zingano (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) beat her, she not only earned a coaching spot on “The Ultimate Fighter 18” but also a shot at Rousey. A knee injury and personal tragedy scratched those opportunities and kept her on the sidelines for more than a year, but when she returns later this month at UFC 178, she’s expected to be in title contention if she can beat Amanda Nunes.

UFC President Dana White promised Zingano a title shot when she returned from her injury, so there’s not much Tate can do if her former opponent delivers at the Sept. 27 pay-per-view event. Still, she thinks a win over Nakai should count for something.

“Although Rin is relatively unknown to the general public, she’s (15-0-1), and (UFC President) Dana (White) knows that, (UFC co-owner) Lorenzo (Fertitta) knows that, and UFC matchmakers know that,” Tate said. “They know that this girl’s legit and she’s tough. Sixteen wins with no losses is difficult for anybody fighting professionally; it’s quite an accomplishment.”

In the past year, Tate has made it her goal to recruit a stable of top female fighters for training camps in Las Vegas. Her presumable goal is to become a more skilled fighter. But a future goal might be to prepare herself so that she’s ready to capitalize in the event of a third fight with Rousey, who first took her Strikeforce belt in 2012 with a vicious armbar and then submitted her again at this past December’s UFC 168 event.

According to Tate, she’s been missing something in her preparation and doesn’t want to lose out on the type of work that could pay off down the road.

“It seems like more and more females are joining the team, and that’s great because having top-tier, quality girls to train with, it’s something that I’ve never been able to have in my career,” she said. “Now that I have access to that, it’s exciting because they’re tough and they give me good goes.”

That’s exactly what Tate is expecting from Nakai, who makes her octagon debut in her home country. Although Tate previously has been to Japan to corner her boyfriend Bryan Caraway, she expects a warm reception from fans.

“I really feel like I have a strong fan base over there, because when I went over there last time when Bryan fought, I met a lot of cool fans that brought pictures for me to sign,” she said. “And I feel like I’ve been more in the limelight, involved with the UFC and Strikeforce. I feel like Japanese fans have been following my career, potentially longer than Rin’s, and so I feel like if I was going to fight anywhere else and fight a hometown person, I would want to do it in Japan because there’s just such an honorable culture. They’re always respectful of the opponent.

“Now, if I was in Brazil, it would be a completely different story.”

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 52, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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