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Miesha Tate Announces Retirement, Suggests Ronda Rousey Will Be Next To Leave UFC

By Ernie Howell
Published on: 04:39 PST, Nov 13, 2016

Miesha Tate unexpectedly announced her retirement from MMA fighting on Saturday at UFC 205, delivering the announcement immediately after losing her contest against Raquel Pennington.

ESPN reported Miesha Tate lost an unanimous decision to Raquel Pennington as the three judges scored the match 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. Miesha Tate warmly embraced her one-time apprentice in the middle of the ring after the match before delivering an impassioned retirement announcement to the UFC 205 audience.

“I’m announcing my retirement, you guys. I love y’all so much. I’ve been doing this for over a decade. Thank you so much for being here. I love this sport forever. But it’s not my time anymore. It’s the future’s time.”

The 30-year-old fighter capped her 10-year-career by winning the UFC Bantamweight Title in March over Holly Holm, CBS Sports reported. Miesha Tate later dropped the title to the current champion — Amanda Nunes — during a bout in July.

The loss at UFC 205 means the Washington native ended her career with back-to-back losses. The results in the octagon, Miesha Tate acknowledged in her announcement, factored into her decision to retire when she did.

“It’s because of the result. I had a lot more to give but I couldn’t pull it out of myself. It’s been a long time, taken a lot of punishment. I still love this sport. I love you guys so much, thank you, but this is it for me.”

Miesha Tate had flirted with the idea of retiring in 2015 when she was passed over for a chance to fight Ronda Rousey for a third time in favor of Holly Holm. Miesha Tate returned for a championship bout against Holly Holm, exacting revenge from the MMA fighter she felt robbed her of chance to finally beat Ronda Rousey.

The retirement for Miesha Tate was extremely unexpected because the fighter had openly discussed a trilogy fight with Ronda Rousey as recently as last week, SB Nation reported. Miesha Tate had hoped to be next up for Ronda after Rousey met Amanda Nunes at UFC 207.

“I really would like another crack at her. I don’t want a half-hearted version of Ronda anyway so I hope she comes back strong and I hope it’s not too much of a race against the clock. Definitely would like to face her in the future.”

The MMA fighter decided to call it a career instead of wait for a final chance to fight Ronda Rousey that might not come. Heading into UFC 205, Miesha Tate predicted that Ronda Rousey would retire if the once-beaten MMA fighter loses to Amanda Nunes in her UFC 207 bout against the current champion, TMZ Sports reported.

“I don’t know why everyone is so surprised by [the retirement talk], honestly. She was already talking about that before she fought Holly… I already kind of knew this would probably be one of her last ones, if not potentially her last one, if she doesn’t win it. I think it could be her last one.”

Indeed, Miesha Tate — who along with Ronda Rousey served as pioneers for the UFC women’s division — may be right about Rousey being the next MMA fighter to retire. As a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last week, Ronda Rousey told the host that she doesn’t expect to fight much longer, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Openly discussing retirement for Ronda Rousey could serve as an out for a poor performance for the one-time champion. Ronda Rousey has not fought since November 2015 when she dropped her title to Holly Holm in a shocking fashion.

Miesha Tate finished with a record of 18-7 in bouts held under the UFC and Strikeforce promotions.

What do you think about the sudden retirement for Miesha Tate and her prediction that Ronda Rousey would join her in leaving UFC in the near future? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Featured image by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images]

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