After an upset loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205, Miesha Tate announced her retirement in a post-fight speech, seemingly catching UFC’s production staff by surprise, as the camera angles got wonky and the mic wasn’t fully configured for broadcast. She said that it was clear that “the future” (pointing to Pennington, who she coached on The Ultimate Fighter) had passed her by.
Tate was one of the most experienced fighters in the women’s bantamweight division, with 25 professional fights, and was two bouts removed from winning the UFC title by submitting Holly Holm in the fifth round. She lost the title to current champion Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 200 in July. Tate had also held the Strikeforce title, defeating Marloes Coenen before losing the title to Ronda Rousey in the fight that served as the catalyst for the division being brought into the UFC.
Featured above, courtesy of the official UFC YouTube channel, is Joe Rogan’s post-fight Octagon interview with the former UFC and Strikeforce Women’s Champion, where she made the surprising retirement announcement.
