Miesha Tate hinted that she was going to retire at the start of the year.
She’s lucky she didn’t.
Because if ‘Cupcake’ had decided to hang up her gloves at that testing point in her life then she’d have denied herself the highlight of her storied mixed martial arts career.
In March, Tate claimed the elusive UFC women’s bantamweight title with one of the most stunning comebacks in UFC history as she choked out Holly Holm in the co-main event of UFC 196.
COMMENT: It was an absolute honour to be in the arena as Miesha Tate lifted her hard-earned belt https://t.co/zTDcyW41SA
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) March 6, 2016
Eight months later and she’s now known as an ex-fighter.
The 30-year-old made the decision to retire on Saturday night, after she came up short in the main card opener of UFC 205.
Tate looked uncharacteristically flat in her defeat to Raquel Pennington, the woman she once coached during her stint on The Ultimate Fighter.
.@MieshaTate announces her retirement from the UFC! #UFC205 #UFCNYC https://t.co/SsrB56AJsQ
— eir Sport (@eirSport) November 13, 2016
It was just the second time in her nine-year fight career that she suffered consecutive losses, having dropped the belt to Amanda Nunes in July, and the time seemed right for her.
She won the title with one of the most exciting finishes of all time.
She headlined the landmark UFC 200 card.
And she opened the main card for the UFC’s debut in New York City.
Nobody can take any of that away from her.
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