Miesha Tate

Prior to the fight, it was revealed that the winner of Tate vs. Zingano would receive a title shot against Rousey, who became the inaugural UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion due to Strikeforce and the UFC being owned by the same company. It was also revealed that the winner would coach against Rousey on the 18th edition of The Ultimate Fighter, a UFC reality show.

On November 7, 2018, it was reported that Tate joined ONE Championship as a Vice President.

On January 1, 2018, Tate announced that she is in a relationship with fellow MMA fighter Johnny Nunez. On June 4, 2018, she gave birth to their daughter, Amaia Nevaeh Nunez. On December 25, 2019, Tate announced that she is pregnant with second child with Nunez, due date being in June 2020.

Tate's final victory in MMA came on March 5, 2016, when she won the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship after beating Holly Holm via technical submission. On July 9, 2016, she lost the UFC title to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200. In November 2016, she announced her retirement from MMA after a loss by decision to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205.

Following Tate's victory over Holm, UFC president Dana White quickly announced that Tate's first title defense would be against Ronda Rousey at a yet-to-be-determined event later in 2016. However, on April 6, White revealed that Tate would instead fight Amanda Nunes in her first title defense at UFC 200 on July 9, 2016. In this fight, Nunes battered Tate with several consecutive strikes and finished her with a rear-naked choke hold three minutes into the first round to become the new Women's Bantamweight Champion.

Tate fought Raquel Pennington at UFC 205 on November 12, 2016. Prior to the event, Tate stated that she intended to take a hiatus from MMA after the bout. She also agreed to a grappling-only rematch with Jessica Eye at a Submission Underground show on December 11, 2016. After losing to Pennington via unanimous decision, Tate announced her retirement from mixed martial arts. "I love you 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," she said after the fight. She received a loud ovation from the crowd at Madison Square Garden amidst her departure.

On September 5, 2016, she helped carry a six-year-old girl with a broken arm while hiking in Nevada.

Tate faced Sara McMann at UFC 183 on January 31, 2015. Tate surprised many in the MMA community by out-grappling McMann, an Olympic medalist in wrestling, for the majority of round 3, winning the fight by majority decision (29–28, 29–27, and 28–28). Following Tate's third UFC victory, FoxSports.com declared that Tate had "proven to be the top fighter in the world at 135 pounds outside of the champion".

On March 20, 2015, it was announced that Tate would face Jessica Eye in a bout on July 25, 2015 at UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barão 2. Given the significance of the fight, which was initially promoted as a top-contender bout, Tate remarked that she expected "the best Jessica Eye that anyone has ever seen," and called Eye a tough opponent. Tate won the fight by unanimous decision.

On November 14, 2015, Holly Holm defeated Rousey for the UFC Bantamweight Championship. In January 2016, the UFC announced that Tate would be the first title defense for Holm at UFC 196 on March 5, 2016. After a back-and-forth four rounds that saw both fighters displaying an advantage, Tate defeated Holm via a technical submission due to a rear-naked choke in the fifth round to become the new UFC Bantamweight Champion. The win also earned Tate her first Performance of the Night bonus award.

Regarding her long-term goals, Tate said, "Becoming a champion means more to me than anything—more than a rematch, more than anything. That's something that when I'm 80 years old someday and I have kids and grandkids I can look back and say, 'Look, this is what I did. This is my accomplishment.' So that's my ultimate goal."

Tate faced Liz Carmouche in the co-main event at UFC on Fox: Werdum vs. Browne on April 19, 2014. She won the fight via unanimous decision, earning her first win in the UFC. Tate then faced promotion newcomer Rin Nakai at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson on September 20, 2014. She won the fight via unanimous decision, making Tate 2-2 in the UFC.

In 2014, Tate became the second MMA fighter (after Donald Cerrone) to join NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick's KHI Management company. Afterward, Tate gained sponsorship deals with NASCAR and Budweiser.

Tate is a fan of the Seattle Seahawks. Tate attended Central Washington University, where she met her ex-boyfriend Bryan Caraway. In 2014, Tate was credited with saving the life of Bryan Caraway's mother, Chris Caraway, when she suffered an asthma attack while scuba diving, stopped breathing and became completely unresponsive.

She amassed a 5–1 amateur record in MMA before turning pro.

Following Strikeforce's fold, Tate officially joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in February 2013. Company president Dana White credited her fight with Ronda Rousey for bringing women's MMA to the promotion. The UFC announced that she would face Cat Zingano on April 13 at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale.

The rematch took place at UFC 168 on December 28, 2013. The fight was largely one-sided, in Rousey's favor, though Tate did manage to take Rousey beyond the first round, coming back from several of Rousey's takedowns and even causing the crowd to rally behind her towards the end of round 2. After escaping two submission attempts, Tate lost to an armbar in the third round.

Toward the end of her career, Tate revealed that she hoped to establish herself as a role model. Following their bout in April 2013, Cat Zingano stated, "To be honest, I looked up to Miesha since I started this sport." Rousey has described Tate as "an amazing fighter." Numerous other competitors, including Kailin Curran and Dan Hardy, expressed respect for Tate following her retirement. Tate's final opponent, Raquel Pennington, also expressed admiration for Tate's legacy. Dave Doyle of Yahoo! Sports called Tate "one of mixed martial arts' most popular stars, in large part because of her toughness and resilience. She may not have had her rivals' standout technical skills, like Ronda Rousey's judo and Holly Holm's boxing, but her heart in the heat of battle just might be unmatched among fighters of either gender."

Tate appears in the award-winning mixed martial arts documentary Fight Life. The film is directed by James Z. Feng and was released in 2013. The film's DVD bonus materials include a featurette on Tate and boyfriend Bryan Caraway. Tate is featured as a playable character in the video game EA Sports UFC. In 2015, Tate was announced as a cast member of the feature film Fight Valley, which follows women competing in an underground fight club.

She appeared nude in the 2013 ESPN Body Issue, and also appeared on the December 2013 cover of Fitness Gurls magazine, which labeled Tate "the most beautiful woman in MMA."

Outside of MMA, Tate has modeled for numerous websites and publications, including ESPN The Magazine and Fitness Gurls. In 2015, Tate was announced as a cast member in the feature film Fight Valley. Her fighting style, which focused on wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, has earned praise from multiple peers and media outlets. Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White has credited Tate's fight with Ronda Rousey on March 3, 2012 as the key factor in the creation of women's divisions in the UFC.

During the first round, Tate wrestled Posener to the mat, but did not strike while holding her there, which prompted Tate's trainers to remind her to. In the second round, Posener bloodied Tate with a knee from inside a clinch. While looking back on the fight in 2012, Tate noted, "I finally realized what I was there to do, and accepted the harsh truth—this wasn't a wrestling match...it was a fight". Tate escaped a submission attempt and responded by "whaling down punches" while Posener was on her back for the remainder of the round. Despite her eagerness to continue, Tate's corner ended the bout after the second round due to the injury she'd sustained. Tate later commented, "When I get hurt or damaged, I fight that much harder."

As Rousey predicted, her bout with Tate was highly publicized in the months preceding it. Rousey had made her MMA debut in early 2011 and defeated all four of her opponents by first-round armbar submission. However, Tate did not believe that Rousey had earned a title shot, and felt that Rousey was largely gaining the opportunity due to being "pretty." The two engaged in a variety of trash-talk, with Rousey stating that she was "bored" while watching Tate's win over Coenen. Ultimately, Tate and Rousey headlined a Strikeforce show on March 3, 2012. This marked a then-rare occurrence of women being placed in the main event of an MMA card. The bout was televised on Showtime and introduced by Jimmy Lennon, Jr. Shortly after the fight began, Tate escaped Rousey's first armbar attempt and retaliated with strikes. After a back-and-forth session of grappling, Tate lost the title when Rousey secured a second armbar near the end of the first round, forcing her to submit.

Tate then faced Julie Kedzie at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman on August 18, 2012. In a striker-versus-grappler match-up, Tate endured two head-kicks and was knocked down twice. She subdued Kedzie with a fight-ending armbar in the third round.

Tate was born in Tacoma, Washington to Michelle Tate and grew up raised by Michelle and husband Robert Schmidt. A tomboy during her youth, she often socialized with the boys in her neighborhood on playgrounds. While attending Franklin Pierce High School, Tate sought a sport to participate in, and eventually chose amateur wrestling over basketball. She wrestled on the boys' team from her freshman year until graduation. "I got my butt kicked pretty hard for the first few weeks. I had no idea what I was doing, like a fish out of water," Tate recalled in 2011. During her senior year in 2005, she competed in the girls' state championship and won the title.

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. Going into the bout, Tate laughed while stating, "I'm going to try to kill her, I really am. I'm going to try to get to the point where the referee is fearful [for] her life and stops the fight. That's my goal." Coenen, known for her jiu-jitsu pedigree, had never been submitted in a mixed martial arts bout. In the fourth round, Tate defeated Coenen via submission (arm-triangle choke) to become the new champion.

Tate was known for her extensive knowledge of ground-based arts, including wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and submission defense; her wrestling-heavy style lead to her first nickname, "Takedown". In July 2011, Tate won the Strikeforce Bantamweight Championship by becoming the first woman to ever submit Marloes Coenen in an MMA bout. During her win at UFC 183, Tate out-grappled Olympic wrestling medalist Sara McMann. She is also noted for being the first fighter to escape Ronda Rousey's armbar on multiple occasions. Following their first bout in March 2012, Rousey described Tate as "much more savvy on the ground than I anticipated."

After stepping away to defend her FCF title in January 2010, Tate faced Zoila Gurgel at Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs. Mahe on March 26, 2010. Tate won the fight by armbar submission in the second round.

Tate was then included in a one-night Strikeforce women's tournament on August 13, 2010 at Strikeforce Challengers: Riggs vs. Taylor. A random drawing was held on the day of the weigh-ins to determine first-round match-ups and Tate faced Maiju Kujala in the opening round of the tournament. She defeated Kujala by unanimous decision after two rounds to advance to the tournament final. She then defeated Hitomi Akano by unanimous decision after three rounds to become Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Tournament Champion.

Tate captured the 135-pound FCF Women's Bantamweight Championship by defeating Liz Carreiro at Freestyle Cage Fighting 30 on April 4, 2009. After being knocked down in the first round, Tate gained control of the fight in the second and submitted Carreiro in the third. She defended the title once, defeating Valerie Coolbaugh by first-round armbar submission at FCF 38 in January 2010.

After winning the FCF title in April 2009, she returned to Strikeforce at Strikeforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Aina on May 15, 2009. Tate was originally scheduled to face Kim Couture, but Couture withdrew from the fight due to undisclosed reasons and Tate was matched up against Sarah Kaufman instead. In a competitive fight, Tate was defeated by unanimous decision, which marked the first time that Kaufman had gone to a decision.

On June 27, 2008, Tate debuted in Strikeforce, an MMA promotion based in San Jose, California, which televised bouts on Showtime and CBS. Fighting in the 135-pound bantamweight division, Tate defeated Elaina Maxwell by unanimous decision at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson.

Tate made her professional debut in mixed martial arts in November 2007 at the one-night HOOKnSHOOT Women's Grand Prix. She defeated Jan Finney by decision, but was knocked out later in the night by a head-kick from eventual tournament champion Kaitlin Young. Throughout 2008 and 2009, Tate fought in several small organizations which did not regularly televise fights, defeating Jamie Lyn Welsh in CageSport MMA, Jessica Bednark in Freestyle Cage Fighting (FCF), and Dora Baptiste in Atlas Fights.

In addition to grappling, mixed martial arts permits the usage of strikes, which are forbidden in wrestling. Victory is usually achieved via a judges' decision, a stoppage due to strikes, or by forcing an opponent to submit. Tate was initially wary of competing in MMA, explaining that she "didn't want to get punched." After seeing her training partners perform in actual competition, Tate was encouraged to accept her first amateur bout in March 2006, in which she was matched against Elizabeth Posener, a Muay Thai specialist.

Miesha Theresa Tate (/ˈ m iː ʃ ə / MEE -shə; born August 18, 1986) is an American mixed martial arts pundit and former mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is a former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. Primarily known for her grappling ability, Tate became a wrestler while attending Franklin Pierce High School in Tacoma, Washington and won a state championship during her senior year in 2005. She began her professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career in 2007, and won the bantamweight championship of the Freestyle Cage Fighting promotion in 2009. Tate gained increased recognition in 2011, when she won the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship. She has also won a silver medal in the FILA Grappling Championships.