Miesha Tate remains undecided about her return to the UFC octagon following her recent bout.
The former UFC women`s bantamweight champion competed earlier this month at UFC Des Moines, where she faced Yana Santos and lost by unanimous decision. This appearance marked Tate`s return after a 17-month layoff, her previous fight being a submission victory over Julia Avila at UFC Austin in December 2023.
In a video posted on Instagram, Tate revealed that she had sustained a significantly painful injury during that win against Avila.
Tate described the injury, stating, “I had my hooks in on her back, one of which was a bit shallow, and I really went to be very aggressive to try to force her from back to belly, belly down, and I ripped two of my ligaments and I had to have reconstructive surgery.” She elaborated on the recovery process, calling it “by far the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. It was harder than coming back after having my two kids, and I, at multiple points, bawled my eyes out and thought I would never be able to fight again — which I really wanted to have that fight.”
Despite the challenging 18-month recovery from what she termed “the biggest injury” of her career, Tate expressed satisfaction with her performance against Santos, even in defeat. She stated, “And after an 18-month layoff, [and] the biggest injury of my career, I can honestly say that I am happy with this performance, and I am happy, even in a loss.”
Tate initially retired from the sport at UFC 205 in November 2016, following a dominant decision loss to Raquel Pennington. The 38-year-old fighter made her return nearly five years later and has since accumulated a record of 2 wins and 3 losses, including a victory over Marion Reneau in her July 2021 comeback fight.
As of now, Tate has not made a definitive decision regarding whether the recent loss to Santos will mark the end of her fighting career.
“I am not making any final decisions,” Tate clarified. “It remains to be seen whether I will fight again or not. I’m not going to clarify either of those because I think there is no right or wrong answer.”
