Athletes
Miesha Tate Feels Like She Is Better Than Ever
As She Prepares To Compete In Her 30th Professional MMA Fight, Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate Says She Still Has One More Title Run Left In Her.
Miesha Tate is back at bantamweight and feeling better than ever as she prepares to make one more run towards championship glory in the UFC.
Tate captured undisputed 135-pound gold nine years ago, but now, after dabbling with life as a flyweight, “Cupcake” is back in her natural weight class, and ready to pick up another big win in the Octagon.
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“The weight cut is half the battle when you're struggling with it, so it's nice to just be at the weight that I feel like I'm very competitive at,” she told UFC.com ahead of her latest assignment at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo in Des Moines, Iowa.
“I might not be the biggest bantamweight in the world, but I'm perfectly fine with that. I think I do well at this weight class.”
Tate’s return to bantamweight saw her snap a two-fight skid as she submitted Julia Avila in Austin, Texas. For Tate, it was a night where everything clicked as she delivered one of the most satisfying performances of her career.
“I feel like the stars were aligning in my last fight, where I knew that the purpose of me still being here is to just see how great I can be. That's it,” she said.
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“I've already accomplished great things. I've already been a world champion. I'm sure I would love to make that climb back, but I kind of just took all the pressure off and said, it's not about winning, it's not about losing, it's about being my best. And I think the performance really showed the mindset shift.”
That change in mindset comes from the knowledge that Tate has reached the UFC mountaintop before.
Miesha Tate Speaks At "Women In Sports" Panel
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Miesha Tate Speaks At "Women In Sports" Panel
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Her championship-winning performance against Holly Holm at UFC 196 remains one of the most dramatic title changes in women’s MMA history. With Holm seemingly on her way to a decision victory, Tate dug deep and, in an unforgettable sequence, managed to drag Holm to the mat before locking up a rear-naked choke for the win.
That moment remains the highest moment of Tate’s career, and has helped shape her mindset as she heads into the latest chapter of her combat sports career.
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“When I went into that fifth round with Holly, I knew that I had to finish the fight,” she recalled.
“I knew that I had to risk everything, including getting knocked out. I had to get a little bit desperate. I had to be really hungry in that moment.
“I remember going in for that shot, and it wasn't a great shot, but it was everything that I had. And I got her down to the ground, and I climbed on her back like a little spider monkey, and I remember latching onto her throat and thinking, ‘I am not letting go, just like a dog on a bone.’
“We did kind of this interesting little flip roll, but I stayed with it, and I stayed on it, and I got that finish. And it was just, honestly, the most amazing feeling.
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“I feel like those five rounds kind of exemplified my entire career. This kind of this come-from-behind mentality, where you've got to make up some ground, and you've got to get find a way to get it done.”
Tate’s latest test will see her take on Russian contender Yana Santos, who sits one spot above Tate in the official UFC women’s bantamweight rankings, in 10th. It’s a matchup that Tate is clearly excited about.
“I love this matchup with Yana,” she smiled.
“I grew up fighting strikers and being the wrestler and the grappler, and I feel like this is another classic matchup.
“Obviously the sport of MMA continues to evolve, and women's MMA is not like it was 10 years ago, 15 years ago, so I'm expecting evolution in her. But at the core of who she is – her style is definitely more of a striker, so I'm excited to take her into deep waters.
“I don't anticipate that there's much that Yana will bring that I haven't seen or haven't prepared for multiple times throughout my career, but it's a fight, so you've got to expect the unexpected, and that's what I've prepared for this whole camp.
“A victory will put me right back in the Top 10, so that's what I want,” she continued.
“I hate being number 11. I want to be inside the Top 10, so I'm not happy with that right now, and she's sitting right at that number 10 seed. But I think a good win over her could boost me up even past that.
“So again, I’m looking for my best performance. It’s not about Yana, it's not about the win, it's about being my best. And when I'm my best, not only will I get the win, but I think I'll do it impressively.”
Tate’s confidence comes from the knowledge that, after 29 fights and at 38 years of age, she’s still improving as a fighter, and she plans on parlaying that fighting talent into victory on Saturday night in Des Moines.
Miesha Tate Subs Avila In Featured Prelim | UFC Austin
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Miesha Tate Subs Avila In Featured Prelim | UFC Austin
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“I just think I'm way better today than when I first started fighting,” she said.
“I actually went back and watched all of my old fights, everything that I could find, and this will be my 30th professional fight. So it was a lot of watching myself evolve through the years.
“There's so many different styles and so many different things that I have explored, and tried, and done, and experienced inside this career of mine, and I was thinking, it must be hard to figure out exactly what I'm going to do, because I feel like I can dip into any one of those.
“But I’m just ready to be a savage, and I’m ready to go out there and fight hard.”
Tate may be making the walk to the cage for the 30th time, but her thirst for success remains as strong as ever. The former two-promotion champion says that she’s learned plenty over the course of her rollercoaster career, and said that experience, coupled with still being at her physical peak, means she still has what it takes to make another run at the women’s bantamweight crown.
“I definitely think there's a route for me back to a title shot,” she insisted.
“I think it's crazy to me that I've been doing this [sport] this long, and I finally feel like I've figured it out. I'm just so much better than I used to be.
“Part of it is mindset, and part of it is my coaches. I lost my coach, Robert Follis. He passed away, and that was really hard for me. I retired and had all these crazy things going on. I left a crazy, toxic relationship, and now things are really in stride for me. So it just makes all the difference.
Miesha Tate | Road To The Gold
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Miesha Tate | Road To The Gold
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“I just couldn't see all that before, and I feel like it's a lot more clear for me now, and I know what I'm here to do. I'm not here for a long time, so I'm here for a good time, so I'm going to make it the best.”
If Tate is able to gatecrash the championship picture again, there’s a chance it could set her on a collision course with another elite judoka.
Tate’s rivalry with Ronda Rousey defined the era of women’s MMA in Strikeforce, then the UFC. Rousey may now be retired, but Olympic judo champion Kayla Harrison is making a charge to the top of the division.
Tate heaped praise on Harrison’s achievements to date, and said that she’d relish the chance to test her MMA skills against Harrison in the future.
“I think the world of Kayla Harrison. I think she's such a great fighter, and I admire her as a human being. All of her accomplishments, she's just great,” she said.
“It's nice to have a fresh face in the division, absolutely. And I really would like to test myself against Kayla, because I don't think I'll ever get that third fight against Ronda, and I kind of see her as that person that I could show that I finally figured out the judo problem that was a problem for me so long ago when I just I couldn't find partners like that, and I just didn't have the right strategy around it.
“I feel so much more confident about what I could deliver now. So I think it would be great for me to have that and be able to test myself and see if I'm correct in that. So that would be a dream come true.”
Ultimately, though, Tate wants to make sure that every time she steps out of the Octagon, she does so knowing that she’s given her all. It’s a mindset that has served her well over the course of her career, and ensures that, whoever she’s facing, Tate will always give her all in her quest for victory.
“I’ve always had this ‘never quit, never give up’ mindset, and I always go in there with that,” she said.
“I’m gonna give whatever I have, and I'm not gonna quit, and I'm not gonna give up. So I think that it's really hard to take me out of fights. I’m not going to quit. You really have to beat me. And sometimes that's easier said than done.”
UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Figueiredo took place live from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa on May 3, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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