Miesha Tate has yet to make a final decision regarding a potential return to the UFC octagon.
The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion most recently competed at UFC Des Moines, where she suffered a unanimous decision loss to Yana Santos. This bout marked “Cupcake`s” return after a layoff of approximately 17 months.
In a recent video shared on Instagram, Tate revealed she had previously sustained a painful injury that had not been widely known.
Describing the injury, which occurred during a prior victory, Tate explained that while attempting to secure a position with hooks in, she ripped two ligaments and subsequently required reconstructive surgery. She described the recovery process as the most challenging experience of her life, even more difficult than recovering after giving birth to her two children. At multiple points during her recovery, she cried and doubted whether she would ever be able to fight again.
Despite the loss to Santos following this significant injury and long break, Tate expressed contentment with her performance, stating she was “happy with this performance, and I am happy, even in a loss.”
Tate initially retired from mixed martial arts at UFC 205 in November 2016 after a decision loss to Raquel Pennington. She returned to competition nearly five years later. Since her comeback fight in July 2021, which included a win over Marion Reneau, her record stands at 2 wins and 3 losses.
As of now, Tate remains undecided on whether the loss to Santos was her final fight. She stated that she is “not making any final decisions” and that her future in fighting “remains to be seen,” adding that she believes there is “no right or wrong answer” to the question of retirement.
