Former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate (18-7) is coming out of retirement. The former bantamweight champion told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto today that her fire is back and she’s ready to return to the octagon.
Tate will make her return to the UFC on July 17th. Standing across from Tate will be Marion Reneau (9-7-1). Reneau will be competing in her retirement fight per ESPN. Reneau has lost four fights in a row and just dropped a decision at UFC Vegas 22.
However, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take on the former UFC champion. Reneau told Okamoto, “I can’t think of a better situation, just because I like to say I grew up watching Miesha. I used to dream about fighting her, and now it’s coming to pass in what happens to be my last hoorah.”
Of course, the main story here is around Miesha Tate. Tate is still just 34 years old so she has plenty of fight left in her. She retired back in 2016 after she lost a decision to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205.
UFC return for Miesha Tate
That loss was the second in a row for Tate. Prior to that loss, Tate lost the UFC bantamweight title to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200. That loss to Nunes snapped a five-fight win streak that saw Tate become the bantamweight champion.
The decision for her to retire surprised many at the time. Tate had just turned 30 years old when she decided to walk away from competing. It’s also not like she was on a massive losing streak when she made the announcement.
It appeared that the former UFC champion just wanted to focus on things outside the octagon. Tate became a mother during her retirement and got to pursue other avenues. Now, she’s ready to get back into the octagon.
Tate told ESPN, “My heart is full of passion, the fire has been lit! The sport has been calling for me, it’s time I answer.”