Miesha Tate is back; will take on Marion Reneau on the 17th of July
Tate last fought at UFC 205 in November 2016.
Miesha ‘Cupcake’ Tate will be returning to the octagon, after almost five long years. The former UFC Women’s bantamweight champion will be fighting 43-year old Mario Reneau on the 17th of July at UFC Fight Night 194. And, ironically this would be the last fight for Mario Reneau who is planning to call it quits after this fight.
The news was first reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN. “My heart is full of passion, the fire has been lit! The sport has been calling for me, it’s time I answer, Miesha told ESPN in a text message.
Miesha Tate last fought at UFC 205!
Miesha Tate won the women’s bantamweight title against Holly Holm at UFC 196, and lost the title in the very next bout to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200. She then faced Raquel Pennington at UFC 205, and suffered yet another defeat. After her loss to Pennington, she announced her retirement from the sport of MMA.
She then decided to come out of retirement in 2018, as she joined the ONE Championship. She never fought even once under the promotion. Meanwhile, she also has become a mother of 2, giving birth to a daughter in 2018 and a son in 2020.
Her opponent, Reneau on the other hand, is currently 43 years old and is coming off a four-fight losing streak. Speaking about the fight, Reneau said, “I knew that my last fight would be when I was 43 or 44 years old. Granted, I feel amazing. I feel the best I’ve ever felt. But there just comes a time when I feel it’s time to move on and in my mind, I always knew I would finish out my contract and that was going to be it.” [via ESPN]
She also revealed how much she looked up to Miesha Tate. Speaking of which she said, “I can’t think of a better situation, just because I like to say I grew up watching Miesha. She was one of my first idols when I started fighting. I used to dream about fighting her, and now it’s coming to pass in what happens to be my last hoorah.” [via ESPN]