Miesha Tate

Miesha Tate: biography

Miesha Theresa Tate is an American mixed martial artist and the winner of UFC and Strikeforce prizes. She is one of the most notable athletes in her division and overall MMA, even though she quit the professional sport in 2016.

Childhood and youth

The future fighter was born in Tacoma, Washington, on August 18, 1986. The girl’s friends were mostly boys. When she decided to take up sports, she considered basketball but chose wrestling eventually and practiced with male peers. Miesha’s endeavor brought the first fruits in 2005: she won the state championship.

After graduation, Tate entered the Central Washington University. This is when a friend convinced the young woman to try mixed martial arts; by that moment, Tate preferred Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She met the club owner Bryan Caraway and started training with him.

Mixed martial arts

The young woman began as an amateur and had five victories and one loss until she came to the professional level. The official debut was held in November 2007: Miesha faced Jan Finney during HOOKnSHOOT: BodogFIGHT 2007 Women's Tournament. Although the athlete won, the next fight was less beneficial: Kaitlin Young left no chance to surpass her.

In 2008-2009, Tate collaborated with small MMA organizations and defeated Jamie Lynn Welsh, Dora Baptiste, and Jessica Bednark. On June 27, 2008, Miesha debuted against Elaina Maxwell in Strikeforce, and the jury gave her the cherished victory.

On April 4, 2009, the athlete participated in Freestyle Cage Fighting 30 and crashed Lizbeth Carreiro. Although she was giving in to her opponent in the first round, Miesha grabbed the initiative in the next one and enjoyed the victory in the third round. She switched to Strikeforce again soon. Kim Couture was supposed to be Tate’s rival in this match, but she rejected without explaining why, and Sarah Kaufman replaced her. Miesha was not so lucky at this time and lost; the jury’s decision was unanimous.

On August 13, 2010, the woman participated in another one-day Strikeforce event and got Maiju Kujala as her opponent. Miesha defeated her in the second round and reached the final; as she surpassed Hitomi Akano, Tate earned the champion title.

The Strikeforce battle between Miesha Tate and Marloes Coenen was scheduled on March 5, 2011. However, Miesha had a knee injury and had to postpone the event until late July. Coenen used to practice Jujutsu Jujutsu before and debuted in MMA with the loss: Tate became the champion.

The old rival Sarah Kaufman was going to face Miesha for her title defense. However, Ronda Rousey offered Sarah to have a meeting before that: the winner would have the chance to fight Tate. Later, Rousey explained that the struggle against Miesha could give her more public attention.

In the first round, Miesha and Ronda were equal, but Rousey pulled herself together in the next one and stripped her rival of the title. Miesha was fighting fiercely and shocked sports journalists and MMA fans: she resisted so hard she that injured her arm dangerously.

Further on, Tate had the meeting with Julie Kedzie and won in the third round. In February 2013, she started collaborating with UFC and faced Cat Zingano in April. Tate’s leadership lasted for two rounds, but she lost due to the technical knockdown. The athlete did not agree, though, and claimed the fight was stopped too early.

The winner would fight against Ronda Rousey. On May 28, Cat’s knee injury and upcoming surgery were announced, so Miesha was chosen as Ronda’s rival. The rematch happened on December 28, 2014, at UFC 168. Although Tate’s performance was good, her competitor surpassed her in the third round.

On April 19, 2014, the woman rehabilitated and gained the UFC victory over Liz Carmouche; Rin Nakai also failed to do anything against her. The beginning of 2015 brought a surprise: Miesha defeated one of the strongest opponents, Sara McMann. In spring, Miesha Tate met with Jessica Eye, whom she respected greatly, and won.

In 2016, UFC announced that Tate would become the first participant for Holly Holm’s title defense; Holm had surpassed Rousey before. That night, Miesha enjoyed her triumph and got the title. Soon, Tate was to face Ronda again, but Amanda Nunes replaced her on July 9, 2016. Miesha lost in the first round.

The athlete’s last MMA fight was held on November 12, 2016; she lost to Raquel Pennington. Although Tate quit, she had a promised rematch with Jessica Eye on December 11 and crashed the rival one more time. The woman said good-bye to her fans and expressed her love for them; she added it was not her time for mixed martial arts. The audience saw her off with a round of applause.

Personal life

On January 1, 2018, the athlete’s fans learned the news about her relationship with a mixed martial artist Johnny Nunez. The couple’s daughter was born on June 4. Childbirth was difficult for Tate and lasted for 67 hours. Later, she confessed that everything was supposed to be different, but the young mother still viewed herself as a winner: the girl was alive and healthy.

Miesha’s courage is notable outside the ring. In 2014, the media revealed how the athlete saved her coach and ex-boyfriend’s mother when the woman was diving and got a sudden asthmatic attack. In 2016, Miesha helped a six-year-old girl with a broken arm go down the mountains.

Tate has an Instagram page. There are many happy pictures of her family life there.

Her height is 5.51 feet (168 cm.). When the woman performed in the ring, her weight was 132.28 lbs. (60 kg.); her current weight is unknown. However, the athlete’s shape is perfect: one can see it in her blog photos in a swimsuit.

Present days

Tate is not going to come back to MMA as a fighter. However, she has not withdrawn from the business entirely.

According to the president of ONE Championship, Miesha was going to become the company’s new vice president. The woman confirmed the information and expressed her gladness about the new job.

Miesha Tate’s net worth is $6 million in 2019.

Titles and achievements

• UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship
• Fight of the Night (twice)
• Performance of the Night (once)
• Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion
• Freestyle Cage Fighting Women’s Bantamweight Champion
• World MMA Awards – Female Fighter of the Year