Miesha Tate is back in the UFC, looking to add to a shiny legacy. The former champion has been on the sidelines since losing her title fight against Amanda Nunes last year, but she’s ready to make a comeback.
Miesha Tate is a mixed martial artist that has been fighting for more than 15 years. She is known as one of the best female fighters in the world, and she’s looking to add to her legacy with a win against Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 on July 9th.
The UFC’s women’s bantamweight division has been in desperate need of fresh blood for some time, but no one expected Miesha Tate to be the one to fill it.
But that’s how Tate (18-7) feels heading into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, where she’ll fight for the first time in almost four years. Now a mother of two, she will compete in the co-main event against Marion Reneau (9-7-1) in front of a headline lightweight fight between rising talent Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moises.
Tate’s first fight back will also be Reneau’s last bout, as the 44-year-old has declared she would retire soon after.
Tate, 34, isn’t exactly a rising star in the 135-pound category. She is, in reality, a true pioneer of women’s MMA. She rose to fame after winning a one-night tournament to earn a chance at the Strikeforce title over a decade ago. She earned the championship in 2011 by beating Marloes Coenen, at a time when women weren’t even allowed to compete in the UFC.
In his debut UFC main event, Islam Makhachev, a pupil of Khabib Nurmagomedov, takes against Thiago Moises. Miesha Tate faces Marion Reneau in the co-main event for the first time since November 2016.
Makhachev vs. Moises at UFC Fight Night UFC Apex, Las Vegas, Saturday • Main event on ESPN/ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET • Preliminaries: ESPN/ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET
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One might say that Tate’s career was a near-perfect success story, which she abandoned when she retired in 2016. She did lose twice to Ronda Rousey, her biggest opponent, but those bouts did a lot to promote the female side of MMA.
After losing to Rousey for the second time in 2013, Tate went on a five-fight winning run, culminating in an upset victory over Holly Holm for the UFC title at UFC 196. Tate’s legacy was cemented even though she lost her next two fights, high-profile battles against Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 and Raquel Pennington in the first UFC event ever hosted in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Solid as a rock. There’s nothing else to prove.
Her comeback was surprising, coming in the co-main event of a very quiet UFC Fight Night at the Apex. Tate always seemed to be pleased with her choice to leave. However, it is a welcome comeback, since the UFC’s 135-pound division is devoid of contenders as a consequence of Nunes’ total domination over the previous four years.
Will Tate become a legitimate championship contender? Who knows what will happen. She’s made it plain that the goal of her return is to reclaim the championship. But, regardless of how things turn out, this doesn’t seem like one of those MMA comebacks that makes you nervous rather than excited. Tate is not required to fight. This isn’t a boxer who felt adrift after retiring from the sport. She seems to be at this place for very good reasons.
And, regardless of how her return goes, it’s great to have her back.
The fights will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+, with the main event beginning at 10 p.m. ET and the preliminary bouts beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
Illustration by ESPN
Coach Khabib teaches Makhachev.
It was unexpected for a variety of reasons when Khabib Nurmagomedov suddenly resigned from the sport after a successful championship defense in October, which improved his record to 29-0. One is that he was at the peak of his career at the age of 32. But it was also unexpected because of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov’s 30-0 goal, who died in July 2020 and was Khabib’s father and coach.
However, according to Khabib Nurmagomedov, the ultimate number of his wins was not a key component of Abdulmanap’s strategy. The primary objective was for Nurmagomedov to step down, relinquish his championship, and hand over the reins to his long-time buddy, colleague, and fellow Daghestan native Makhachev.
“When you finish, Islam has to arrive,” Nurmagomedov said. Nurmagomedov quit because he promised his mother he would only fight once without Abdulmanap in his corner. “‘After you complete, Islam must arrive at the same time as you, since there are three years between you two.”
“‘You’re a little late, brother,’ I told Islam. You only make the top ten. You’re expected to be in the top three,’ she says. This individual is running late.”
Read more: ‘Show the world,’ says Khabib Nurmagomedov as he takes on Islam Makhachev in the UFC’s inaugural main event
The main event in numbers
5: In the UFC lightweight division, fighters who have won eight consecutive fights. Makhachev will be the sixth if he wins on Saturday.
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Makhachev has absorbed the fewest strikes per minute of any fighter in UFC history, at 0.77 strikes per minute.
Makhachev has been in control of his opponent for 52.5 percent of his time in the Octagon. It’s the active lightweight’s second-fastest control time.
Moises has the seventh-highest submission rate among current UFC lightweights, with 1.31 submissions per 15 minutes.
Moises has won three times in a row. If he wins again on Saturday, it would be his second-longest winning run of his career.
ESPN Stats & Information and UFC Stats were used as sources.
vs. vs. vs. vs. vs
The most recent results of Islam Makhachev Drew Dober (Sub3, March 6, 2021; watch on ESPN+) is the winner. Davi Ramos (UD, Sept. 7, 2019; watch on ESPN+) Davi Ramos (UD, Sept. 7, 2019; watch on ESPN+) Arman Tsarukyan (UD, April 20, 2019; ESPN+) wins. Kajan Johnson comes out on top (Sub1, July 28, 2018) Gleison Tibau comes up on top (KO1, Jan. 20, 2018)
The most recent results of Thiago Moises Alexander Hernandez (UD, Feb. 27, 2021; ESPN+) is the winner. Bobby Green (UD, Oct. 31, 2020; watch on ESPN+) is the winner. Michael Johnson (Sub2, May 13, 2020; ESPN+) is the winner. Damir Ismagulov (UD, Aug. 31, 2019; ESPN+) loses. Kurt Holobaugh (UD, May 10, 2019; ESPN+) wins.
Finally, the winner is…
“What’s amusing is that Islam isn’t arrogant; he’ll never be arrogant. But he’s now ‘feeling himself,’ as I like to put it “Deron Winn, a UFC middleweight who trains with Makhachev at American Kickboxing Academy, agreed. “When he comes in, he has that sort of swag. It’s as though they’re saying, ‘Oh, Islam has arrived.’ And I’ve seen him thrash everyone in sparring matches. Every time. You could almost argue — and Khabib Nurmagomedov would slam me for saying this — that his striking is better than Khabib’s was at this stage in his career.”
See how Winn and other experts analyze the main event and choose a winner.
Miesha Tate’s comeback in numbers
In 2016, Miesha Tate won the UFC women’s bantamweight title. ESPN’s Ed Mulholland
Since Tate last won a fight (submission of Holly Holm for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship on March 5, 2016), it will have been 1,961 days on fight night. Tate’s most recent fight came on November 12 of that year, when he lost to Raquel Pennington — 1,709 days ago.
Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Miesha Tate, and Amanda Nunes are the four women’s bantamweight champions in history.
Tate has attempted 11 submissions, the most in UFC women’s bantamweight history. She has the second-highest submit rate in the division, behind only her close friend Ronda, with 1.31 submissions per 15 minutes (3.03).
Tate’s control time is 37:06, which ranks her sixth all-time in the women’s bantamweight category.
What is the best way to watch the fights?
On ESPN or ESPN+, you may watch the game. WatchESPN | TV Schedule | Download the ESPN App
If you don’t have ESPN, you’re out of luck. Get immediate access. If you don’t have ESPN+, you’re out of luck. It’s available for purchase here.
There’s also FightCenter, which provides real-time coverage of every UFC event.
The fight card for Saturday
10 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+
Thiago Moises vs. Islam Makhachev | Lightweight Miesha Tate vs. Marion Reneau | Women’s bantamweight Mateusz Gamrot vs. Jeremy Stephens | Lightweight Dustin Stoltzfus vs. Rodolfo Vieira | Middleweight Men’s featherweight | Gabriel Benitez vs. Billy Quarantillo 7 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ Preston Parsons vs. Daniel Rodriguez | Welterweight Montserrat Conejo vs. Amanda Lemos | Strawweight Men’s bantamweight Khalid Taha vs. Sergey Morozov Men’s bantamweight | Miles Johns vs. Anderson Dos Santos Men’s flyweight | Francisco Figueiredo vs. Malcolm Gordon Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Alan Baudot | Heavyweight
There are five additional things you should be aware of (from ESPN Stats & Info)
1. Jeremy Stephens was scheduled to meet Drakkar Klose in April, but he hurt Klose during a prefight faceoff, forcing the match to be canceled. Now in his 47th fight, the veteran lightweight is aiming for his first victory in six bouts, going back to February 2018. Mateusz Gamrot (18-1) faces Stephens (28-18, 1 NC), who is coming off a knockout victory over Scott Holtzman in April.
Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega lead a talented group of 16 rising stars who have sacrificed all else in their life to chase their UFC ambitions. The new season will debut on Tuesday, June 1st. ESPN+ is the place to be.
2. Rodolfo Vieira, who fights middleweight Dustin Stoltzfus, has a 15-minute takedown average of seven. Stoltzfus has a striking accuracy percentage of 57 percent.
3. Billy Quarantillo, who lost his eight-fight winning run to Gavin Tucker in December, will attempt to reclaim his title against featherweight Gabriel Benitez, who is coming off a knockout victory over Justin Jaynes in the same month.
4. Daniel Rodriguez has won ten of his last eleven bouts, including a victory over Mike Perry in April. He fights Preston Parsons, a welterweight who is making his UFC debut and has a defeat to Perry on his record.
5. Amanda Lemos, who is on a three-fight winning run, takes on Montserrat Conejo in a striker-vs.-grappler bout. Conejo averages four takedowns every 15 minutes with an 80 percent accuracy rate, whereas Lemos averages almost six major strikes each minute.
This bout preview was co-written by ESPN’s Jeff Wagenheim.
The UFC viewers guide – Miesha Tate is back, looking to add to a shiny legacy is an article about the UFC. It talks about Dana White’s fight record and how Miesha Tate will be fighting in her first match since losing the belt at UFC 200. Reference: dana white fight record.
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