Miesha Tate Explains Why She Retired | MMAWeekly.com

There comes a time for every athlete when they realize that they can no longer compete in their chosen sport. For Miesha Tate, that realization came on Nov. 12 during her UFC 205 bout against Raquel Pennington.

After losing to Pennington by unanimous decision, the former bantamweight champion announced her retirement before leaving the Octagon at Madison Square Garden.

“I’m announcing my retirement, you guys. 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. It’s not my time anymore. It’s the future’s time,” she said.

During a Q&A following the UFC Fight Night 101 weigh-in in Melbourne, Australia, Tate explained her decision to hang up the gloves.

“The problem is, I don’t want to give you guys half-ass performances. Unless I can go in there with a whole heart, I refuse to go back into that Octagon. That’s where it stands,” she explained.

Competing doesn’t feel the same as it used to for the 30-year-old Tate. As blues musicians Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell penned in 1951, “the thrill is gone.”

“The competitive nature, it has to be there. I’ve been in contact sports over half my life. It doesn’t’ have the same thrill that it did when I was 22,” she said. “I won’t go in there and fight with half a heart.”

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With her fighting career behind her, Tate looks forward to other opportunities. She has experience as a commentator and analyst on television. While her fighting career is behind her, Tate believes we may see more of her now.

“I look at this as like the halftime of my life. It’s a transition-period. I don’t look at myself as retired because I’m going to be doing a lot more things,” she said. “It’s just a transition into something else. You guys may actually see more of me.”

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