Former champ Miesha Tate plans to take some down time after UFC 205

NEW YORK – After a busy year, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate is planning to take some time away from the sport following her upcoming UFC 205 bout with Raquel Pennington.

Tate’s (18-6 MMA, 5-3 UFC) matchup with Pennington (8-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC), which opens Saturday’s pay-per-view main card following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass at Madison Square Garden in New York, will mark her third fight of the year. She won the 135-pound belt from Holly Holm at UFC 196 in March, lost it to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 in July, and is hoping to close out the year with a win at UFC 205.

“Cupcake” hasn’t compete more than twice in a calendar year since 2010, and while she has a Submission Underground grappling match with Jessica Eye planned for Dec. 11, she said she won’t be making the walk to the UFC octagon anytime soon after UFC 205.

“After this fight, I want to take a little bit of down time because I fought three times in nine months and two of them were title fights,” Tate told MMAjunkie at UFC 205 media day. “It’s just a lot. I love it – I love being active – but I want to take a little bit of time. I’m not going anywhere, but I want to take a little time to vacation and enjoy the holidays and whatnot. Then I’ll get back in the mix.”

Tate, No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s bantamweight rankings, had a five-fight winning streak snapped when she suffered a first-round submission loss to Nunes in the UFC 200 main event. She was unable to record a single title defense after capturing the belt, something which obviously came as a disappointment.

She didn’t allow the loss of the belt she worked so long and so hard to get discourage her, though. Despite suffering a broken nose in the fight, Tate returns to action just over four months later with the goal of eventually capturing the title once more.

“(Losing the belt) was terrible,” Tate said. “I hated every minute of it, but I realize it was also character forging. I want to set the example that every time you get knocked down in life, you have to get back up. It sounds cliche and everything, but I think I am the walking example of that. Just when you think everything is going good or you’ve got it figured out or going in the right direction, life hits you with the curveball. You can get through it.

“For me, this fight is very important because it’s another piece of that legacy that I’m trying to leave behind. That I can get through that adversity and anyone can get through it. Whatever life throws at you, you can get through it.”

Tate said the matchup with No. 15-ranked Pennington is an appropriate one to help her get back on track. “Rocky” is on a three-fight winning streak and has a unique relationship with Tate in that she was one of her team members on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series.

Just once in UFC history has such a situation occurred, when “TUF 3” coach Tito Ortiz faced off against Matt Hamill at UFC 121 in October 2010. The dynamic is certainly unique, but with more than three years having passed since the show was filmed, Tate doesn’t think the fact she’s spent so much time around Pennington will have impact on the fight.

“I don’t know if it’s a factor – I don’t feel like it is,” Tate said. “I just feel like I’m going to be prepared for everything and anything. It’s been a while since I’ve been on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and coached her. It’s been a few years. So it’s not like this is a very new and recent thing. I’m sure she’s evolving and I’m evolving. We’re two different fighters than we were back then. You can’t really take that and go, ‘Now I know everything and know what to expect.’ It’s not at all.”

For more on UFC 205, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.