Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s Bantamweight champion, Miesha Tate, is making a mixed martial arts (MMA) comeback. According to ESPN, Tate has agreed to face Marion Reneau at an upcoming Fight Night event on July 17 at a location that has yet-to-be determined.
Tate retired immediately after losing to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205 in Nov. 2016. Prior to the setback to “Rocky,” Tate lost her 135-pound title to Amanda Nunes. Since announcing her retirement, “Cupcake” went on to work for ONE Championship and expanded her family.
Now the former UFC and Strikeforce champion is looking to resume a career which saw her prosper under the UFC banner, including scoring a huge win over Holy Holm to capture UFC gold at UFC 196.
“My heart is full of passion, the fire has been lit!” Tate told ESPN regarding her comeback efforts. “The sport has been calling for me, it’s time I answer.”
Interestingly enough, while Tate is making her long-awaited return to action, Reneau is set to put a bow on hers because she tells ESPN that this fight will be her last of her near decade-long career.
“I knew that my last fight would be when I was 43 or 44 years old,” Reneau said. “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.
“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.”
Reneau (43) is in the midst of a four-fight losing streak, so she would love nothing more than to end her career on a high note while spoiling “Cupcake’s” comeback fight.