Former UFC champion and women’s MMA pioneer, Miesha Tate has announced that she is returning to the sport of mixed martial arts reportedly on July 17.
Following the huge announcement, the news was first reported by ESPN. In addition, the news was confirmed by sources at MMAJunkie. Overall, the decision totally came from left-field, as many fans and pundits alike thought that Tate was done for good. The reason the decision came as such a surprise is because Tate works close with ONE Championship in Asia.
Miesha Tate Breaks Retirement And Is Returning To Face Marion Reneau
The former UFC champion will take on Marion Reneau in her return fight. After dropping a unanimous decision loss to Macy Chiasson, Reneau has been on quite the slump. In particular, the veteran is on a four-fight losing skid. While the skid started with a loss to Cat Zingano, the bantamweight continued to struggle against each opponent the UFC put in front of her. After the pairing, Reneau lost two more times. Certainly, the American is desperate to pick up a win and mentioned that this will likely be her retirement fight.
ミーシャ・テイト🇺🇸タフなトレーニングだってこなします☝️@MieshaTate #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #格闘技 pic.twitter.com/dduFlJaeRj
— ONECHAMPJP (@ONECHAMPJP) March 19, 2021
Since Reneau believes this could be her retirement fight, the implications after the fight could get murky. Perhaps if the bantamweight wins big, she could find herself in a huge spot despite wanting to step away.
On the other hand, after Tate lost her title to Amanda Nunes, the women’s pioneer fought top-ranked Raquel Pennington around four months later to get back on track but did just the opposite. Following the loss to Pennington, Tate has now taken a 5-year hiatus from the sport and definitely will give the bantamweight division a much-needed shakeup.
UFC officials have yet to announce the July 17 event that will feature Tate vs. Reneau. Location, venue, and broadcast plans are not known at this time.
