Miesha Tate is an American professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is a former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion. Miesha Tate formerly competed for Strikeforce, in which she is a former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion. She was also the vice president of ONE Championship.
Miesha Theresa Tate was born on August 18, 1986, in Tacoma, Washington, United States. She started in amateur wrestling before turning to mixed martial arts (MMA).
Miesha Tate is known for her extensive knowledge of grappling arts, including wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and submission defense. She is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Miesha Tate MMA Career
Miesha Tate is competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is a former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion. Her professional MMA record is 19-9-0 (W-L-D).
Before turning professional Miesha Tate has two wins versus Debra Louis (via armbar submission) and Valerie Coolbaugh (via armbar submission), and one loss to Elizabeth Posener (via TKO).
MMA debut
Miesha Tate made her professional debut on November 24, 2007 at the HOOKnSHOOT – Bodog Fight Women’s Tournament. In the first match, she fought against Jan Finney and won via unanimous decision.
After the win, she had another fight in the tournament later the same day and lost to Kaitlin Young via KO in the first round.
Early MMA career
On June 27, 2008, Miesha Tate fought versus Elaina Maxwell at the Strikeforce – Melendez vs. Thomson. She won the fight via unanimous decision.
On November 29, 2008, she faced Jamie Lynn Welsh at the CS – CageSport MMA and won via TKO in the first round.
On January 31, 2009, Miesha Tate registered another win versus Jessica Bednark at the FCF – Freestyle Cage Fighting 27. She won the fight via TKO in the first round.
On February 21, 2009, she extended her winning streak, after defeating Dora Baptista at the Atlas Fights – USA vs. Brazil. She won the first via triangle choke submission.
On April 4, 2009, Miesha Tate won her fight versus Lizbeth Carreiro at the FCF – Freestyle Cage Fighting 30 via shoulder choke submission. Thus, she won the FCF Women’s Bantamweight title.
Miesha Tate defended the title one again on January 16, 2010, defeating Valerie Coolbaugh at the FCF – Freestyle Cage Fighting 38 via armbar submission in the first round.
Strikeforce career
Miesha Tate made her debut with Strikeforce on May 15, 2009, in a bout versus Sarah Kaufman. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.
On March 26, 2010, she fought versus Zoila Frausto at the Strikeforce – Challengers 7 and won via armbar submission in the second round.
On August 13, 2010, Miesha Tate won her bout versus Maiju Suotama at the Strikeforce – Challengers 10 via unanimous decision. At the same event, she fought versus Hitomi Akano and registered another victory.
Miesha Tate was scheduled to challenge Marloes Coenen for the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship on March 5, 2011, but withdrew from the fight after suffering a knee injury in training. The fight was rescheduled for Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson on July 30, 2011. Miesha Tate defeated Marloes Coenen via submission (arm-triangle choke) to become the new champion.
On March 3, 2012, she fought to defend her title, facing the new Strikeforce contender, Ronda Rousey. However, she lost to her via armbar submission in the first round.
On August 18, 2012, she had her last Strikeforce fight versus Julie Kedzie at the Strikeforce – Rousey vs. Kaufman. She won the bout via armbar submission in the third round.
UFC career
Miesha Tate officially joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in February 2013.
She made her UFC debut on April 13, 2013, versus Cat Zingano at the UFC – The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale. However, she lost the fight via TKO in the third round.
On December 28, 2013, she faced Ronda Rousey again at the UFC 168 – Weidman vs. Silva 2 and again lost via armbar submission in the third round after escaping two submission attempts earlier in the match.
On April 19, 2014, Miesha Tate faced Liz Carmouche in the co-main event at UFC on Fox: Werdum vs. Browne. She won the fight via unanimous decision, earning her first win in the UFC.
On September 20, 2014, she registered another victory versus Rin Nakai at the UFC Fight Night 52 – Hunt vs. Nelson.
Miesha Tate faced Sara McMann at UFC 183 on January 31, 2015. She surprised many in the MMA community by out-grappling Sara McMann, an Olympic medalist in wrestling, for the majority of round 3, winning the fight by majority decision.
July 25, 2015, Miesha Tate faced Jessica Eye in a bout at UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barao 2. The fight was initially promoted as a top-contender bout. Miesha Tate won the fight via unanimous decision and was named for the main contender for the title.
On March 5, 2016, Miesha Tate faced Holly Holm at the UFC 196 – McGregor vs. Diaz. She won the fight via technical rear-naked choke submissions in the fifth round and won the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion.
On July 9, 2016, Miesha Tate fought versus Amanda Nunes at the UFC 200 – Tate vs. Nunes in defense of her title. However, she lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission.
On November 12, 2016, she had a fight versus Raquel Pennington at the UFC 205 – Alvarez vs. McGregor and lost via unanimous decision.
On November 7, 2018, it was reported that Miesha Tate joined ONE Championship as a Vice President, but on 2021 she returned to the UFC and restarted her MMA career.
On July 17, 2021, she made her second debut in the UFC fighting versus Marion Reneau at the UFC on ESPN 26 – Makhachev vs. Moises. She won the fight via TKO in the third round.
On November 20, 2021, Miesha Tate had another fight in the UFC, facing Ketlen Vieira at the main event of the UFC Fight Night 198 – Vieira vs. Tate. Miesha Tate lost the fight via unanimous decision.
On July 16, 2022, she faced Lauren Murphy at the UFC on ABC 3 – Ortega vs. Rodriguez, but registered another loss via unanimous decision.