miesha tate
Miesha Tate lost her bantamweight championship title to Amanda Nunes at UFC 202 Getty

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's bantamweight champion has backed Ronda Rousey to emerge victorious on her comeback at the UFC 207 event, but has warned her ahead of the fight and claimed that the American can only win if she is at her best.

Tate has fought Rousey twice in the past, losing both encounters, while the American is also returning after a loss to Amanda Nunes, who beat her (Tate) for the bantamweight title at UFC 200.

"I feel like there's so many weight variables. Who knows what we're going to get out of Ronda when she comes back. If we're getting Ronda at the best she's ever been, then I say Ronda. But if we're getting Ronda coming back kind of with a half-ass mentality, kind of like I have to do this one time and she's got a lot of ring rust, I mean is she still punch-shy since Holly?," Tate said, as quoted by Yahoo.

The 30-year-old warned Rousey of the dangers of facing Nunes, and said that the Brazilian possesses a heavy right hand which can change a fight. She was of the view that this could cause problems and be a major concern for the returning start.

"Amanda has incredible power in her right hand. So, if she hits Ronda with one of those, I can see it being a huge problem for Ronda, a big, big problem. It's kind of hard to say honestly (who will win). I really just don't know what we're going to get with Ronda. I know what we're going to get with Amanda. I just have no idea what we're going to get with Ronda," the former bantamweight champion added.

Rousey, who is one of the biggest superstars in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has been out of action since November 2015 after she suffered a shock defeat to Holly Holm at UFC 193. Holm knocked Rousey out with a vicious head kick, inflicting what was the Americans's first loss of her career.

The American will return to the Octagon for a chance to reclaim her Bantamweight title when she faces Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 on 30 December at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.