Miesha Tate suffered her first setback since returning from retirement.
The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion lost a unanimous decision to Brazil’s Ketlen Vieira in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 198 in Las Vegas. After a hard-fought 25 minutes, Vieira (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) won 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 on the judges’ scorecards.
Tate (19-8 MMA, 6-5 UFC) feels it was a competitive bout and gives Vieira all the credit for the victory.
“I thought it was really close, I wasn’t sure, to be honest,” Tate told Daniel Cormier during her in-cage post-fight interview. “I thought it was close and I knew that there was a possibility she won. I did my best tonight and came up short. She’s the better woman, hat’s off to her. She’s great.”
Tate retired from MMA competition following her loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205 in November 2016. She came back from retirement this summer with a TKO win over Marion Reneau. She won a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for her efforts.
Even in defeat, Tate very much enjoyed the bout against Vieira.
“The real thing is about enjoying the journey,” Tate said. “This is just a moment in time, you guys. This is an opportunity for me to grow. I had a great time tonight and it was an awesome opponent. I get to go home and kiss my two kids. Life is good, life is great. Thank you so much for supporting me.”
