Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate joins UFC Fight Camp to reflect on when the UFC introduced a …
pain is just something I feel like it’s not necessary in a fight it’s just kind of like off the [Music] [Music] checklist you should P landed a [Music] bom look at this again boom wow what a performance looking to choke around she’s got it back still she is all over it’s a new [Music] [Applause] UFC yeah I don’t know how you don’t want to run through a brick ra wall after watching that joining us now on UFC fight Camp is Misha cupcake Tate very happy to see you I actually want to start with that Holly home clip because I remember watching that fight and I remember her trying to flip you over and I was like oh no this might not be good good but not only did you hold on you got the submission we like what were you thinking in that moment I was just thinking I can’t let go I’ve got it and I’ve got to hang on to this with everything that I have and uh that’s what I did I hung on to it like a dog on a bone yeah that was an incredible highlight for sure among many in your career and and really like we’re celebrating the UFC’s 30 years uh throughout this show and you are the perfect person to talk to because you were there really front and center when the UFC introduced the female divisions and we started to finally see back in 2013 women’s fights in the UFC obviously we saw them in Strike Force and elsewhere before that but just take us back to that year or that time when the UFC finally introduced these divisions what was the what what what was the mindset and how did you feel that the UFC was finally making this leap like I had a big chip on my shoulder like something to prove you know because Dana had been saying for so long long that you know there would never be women in the UFC and when we finally got that opportunity it was like this is the time to Showcase like there there’s no I mean not that it was games before but if if I could emphasize how much more serious that big Grand stage really felt and the opportunity to be next to the most elite male counterparts um you know it was yeah it was a big moment for us and mind you you know when Strike Force was going away we didn’t know if women were going to get to be a part of the UFC so just getting that relief of knowing that we still had a future and a place to go and and uh the best news was that it was the biggest platform in the world you know the UFC well certainly in that moment like you said Strike Force was going away but one of the biggest rivalries to come from Strike Force was coming to the UFC of course you and Ronda Rousey I’m just curious like 10 years removed how do you look back on that rival with Rousey you know I look back at it with a lot of gratitude if I can be honest I’m so thankful that I had a rival like her because not everybody gets the opportunity to stand oppos somebody who can build a storyline alongside you and I can say that my younger self I didn’t appreciate that as much as I do now and I’m grateful to have had somebody to push me and to push the sport so you know Rhonda was a great adversary she was what the sport really needed and she’s what I needed as well yeah it’s certainly one that will go down the annals of time uh in terms of rivalries I remember watching it and how bitter it was back and forth but we fast forward and you have the opportunity finally you know a culmination of a career’s uh worth of work to win the championship take us back to that moment when you finally held that title in your hands you know holding the UFC World title in my hands was so surreal it definitely took a week or so for it to really sink in because I think most athletes but I know for sure myself I visualize a lot so I had already won this belt thousands of times in my mind I had pictured myself there because that was my my main motivation and so when I was actually there it was almost felt just like the dream that I had been envisioning in my head and I had to take time to realize that this actually happened this time as opposed to me manifesting this and um it was a it was the culmination of my career it was 10 years almost to the day of my Pro debut and you know it’s just like all that hard work um you know hours and hours banked inside the gym all the repetitions all the the beatdowns everything in that moment made sense Misha speaking of taking time that’s exactly what you did in your your career right you paused your professional MMA career here you are back now you’re you have an upcoming fight against Julia avula how is Camp going and also how different are things going into this fight I mean life is different uh situations are different how is Camp going well thank you for highlighting that I’m about to jump on after this uh in wrestling practice so um you know this Camp has been a really good camp um I’ve definitely had a little bit of a longer break than I would have expected but I really focused on my mental here I I really feel like uh you know the mental health has been a quite a Hot Topic and a lot of athletes are kind of discussing it and it really made me sit back and re-evaluate how I want to approach those 15 minutes when I’m inside the octagon and you know 15 minutes it is not a long time but when you’re in there it can feel like a long time but then when it’s done it also feels like it was in the blank of an eye so it’s such a weird place to be like the eye of the the storm and I really want to be prepared to be present and want a specific outcome in this fight and it’s it’s much different than any other fight you know I I feel like I had to make some adjustments compared to my last fight and I’m looking forward to this one I think it’s a really good matchup she’s a very feisty fighter she’s the Raging Panda if that’s tells you anything so what are the better nicknames right it’s a great name yes the cupcake and the in Panda that might be an alltime nickname matchup actually in UFC history The Cupcake versus the Raging Panda I love that that’s December 2nd UFC Fight Night uh you are a Trailblazer in this industry but your the chapters in your book continue to be written Misha Tate joining us here on UFC fight cam thanks so much for your time I appreciate you guys thank you and uh I’m gonna peace out and go get my wrestling in [Music]