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Former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate made her 125-pound debut in 2022 against one-time title challenger Lauren Murphy. ‘Cupcake’ lost badly via unanimous decision, putting her on a two-fight skid.
During this week’s UFC Austin media day, the 37-year-old veteran spoke in detail about her struggles during her weight cut.
Miesha Tate reflects on flyweight move
Miesha Tate spoke candidly to the media, revealing her struggles to make weight. A bantamweight competitor her entire career, the Xtreme Couture talent vividly shared some of her experiences.
“I don’t think most people realize how difficult any of this is,” Tate said (quotes by MMA Fighting). “Most people can’t even stick to a normal diet. They say, ‘Oh, I want to lose some weight,’ and they’re not even willing or able to do that.
“So I think for an athlete to shave muscle off of their body, it’s very difficult, and it feels terrible actually. It’s like this burning feeling in your body.
“I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like your muscle just being liquified. It’s not a very nice feeling. Easier said than done.”
Tate chooses to stick to 135 pounds
Despite the ten-pound difference, Miesha Tate acknowledges her body’s limitations at this stage of her career.
“Making 125 [pounds], I’m proud of myself. It just goes to show when I set my mind to something, I can do it because that was not easy.
It took months and months and months of dieting, and I’m already pretty lean at 135, so to get down to 125 meant I just had to strip muscle off of my body.
“There really wasn’t much room to play with body fat. So, it ended up not being a good thing for me. Hormonally, I had some complications, and I was just too lean for a female, so I think 135 is where it’s at.
“I may not be the biggest 135-pound female out there, but I don’t think I need to be the biggest to be the best. I feel good, and I know what I’m capable of when I feel good.”
As for 125 pounds, Tate considers it an unsuccessful ‘experiment’ to learn from.
“On my record, yes, I know that it says I lost that fight, and I did lose that fight, but it was an experiment. It wasn’t the right decision for me, so I kind of look at my career as a 135’er and just say, look, 125, it was an error.
I wouldn’t know how I’d do there unless I tried it. I did it, and I didn’t like it. So back to 135.”
Is Miesha Tate retiring after UFC Austin?
Miesha Tate will be part of this weekend’s UFC Austin card against number 13-ranked Julia Avila. And if she dismissed the retirement talk after her loss to Murphy, she is taking the opposite approach this time.
“At some point this chapter is going to close, and I certainly think that I’m much closer to the end of it than I ever have been before,” she said.
“It didn’t stop with my last fight. I don’t know if it’ll stop after this fight. I really feel like any fight at any point could be my final fight, and I’m okay with that because I built an emperor-worthy life. Wins and losses don’t define me anymore.”
Miesha Tate first retired in 2016 after losing to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205. She then ventured into the corporate MMA side of things, becoming a Vice President in ONE Championship from 2018 to 2021.
Tate returned in 2021, making a strong statement with a third-round TKO win over veteran Marion Reneau. She has since gone on a 1-2 run and holds a record of 19-9.
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