Miesha Tate Says She's Willing To Retire If UFC Doesn't Change Things, Talks Being Passed By, More
Miesha Tate may have been overlooked for a title shot and her potential third fight with longtime rival Ronda Rousey, but she's not taking it lying down. Tate appeared on The MMA Hour this week and said she may end up retiring.
"They have a job to do. They want to promote, they want to make fights that sell. I get it. "But this is also my life and I'm not a robot, I'm not a puppet, and I'm not going to stand for something that I don't feel right about, that I don't agree with," Tate told Ariel Helwani Monday.
Tate was originally slated to take on her foe Rousey in a trilogy bout for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship, but was replaced by undefeated Holly Holm. UFC President Dana White said that the company didn't want to do the third fight when the first two ended so decisively. Tate, however, see is as politics.
"The whole reason I do this sport is because I love it, and when the politics get in the way and they start messing s–t up. I'm just not going to stand for it. It's not why I got into fighting. It's not why I do what I do. I'm not going to go out there and put on a crap performance in front of all my fans because I didn't feel right about it," Tate said.
The former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion Tate says she was overwhelmed by the news that she wouldn't get her title shot. She's also said that retirement is a possible option if things don't change, including the pay scale.
"I need to know for my career, what my next move is going to be," Tate said. "I have some more demands that I want to make. I realize that Ronda is making a lot, and I just feel like when I walk out for my weigh-ins, when I walk out for my fights, I have an amazing fan base. They really always show their love and appreciation, and you can tell that I have the loudest crowd response pretty much of anyone fighting on the card, besides Ronda of course. But when it's a card by myself, I always have a huge crowd response. I have a tremendous fan base, and I don't think any of us really want retirement to be the situation. So the UFC needs to kind of wake up and smell the coffee and make something work. "It's either going to go up in flames or Dana (White) is going to say that I'm making some valid points and make some adjustments."
Tate also spoke out about rejecting a Fight Pass bout with Amanda Nunes. You can see the full interview above. Wrestling Inc will have full, live coverage of UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm next Saturday night.