Miesha Tate has no plans to come out of retirement – except maybe for Ronda Rousey

LONDON – Miesha Tate is happily retired from MMA and sees no reason why that would change any time soon.

The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion said she would be open to changing her mind for one potential matchup, though, and it’s not difficult to guess what that would be.

If Tate (18-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC) ever decides to return to action, she said sharing the octagon with Ronda Rousey (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) for the third time would be the only enticing option.

“If I was going to come back, (Rousey) would be the fight that would appeal to me the most,” Tate told fans during a Q&A prior to today’s UFC Fight Night 107 in London. “But at the moment, I’m sorry – it’s just not what I see in my future.”

After retiring from the sport in November following a loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205, Tate has stayed in the public eye. She’s worked as an analyst on FS1’s pre- and post-fight UFC programming, and routinely attends live events, as is the case ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Pass-streamed UFC Fight Night 107 card at The O2 in London.

Tate said she relishes the chance to break down fights and interact with fans in-person. There are also other opportunities looming, and she said her current lifestyle provides more satisfaction than preparing for fights.

“I love that I’m able to do more of this and be able to connect more with the fans,” Tate said. “Obviously if I was fighting this weekend I wouldn’t be here doing this. So there’s pros and cons. I had a long career, especially for a female. I fought for 11 years, and now I’ve transitioned to other ways of enjoying the sport, so it’s not all bad.”

When it comes to Rousey, though, there’s something about a third meeting with her longtime rival that scratches Tate’s competitive itch. She lost the Strikeforce title to “Rowdy” in March 2012. In their second fight, she went farther with Rousey than anyone before her had gone, but tapped a third-round armbar in a title fight at UFC 168.

Although Tate is clear about her position when it comes to fighting, Rousey is quite the opposite. The UFC’s first women’s champion hasn’t talked about her future plans since a 48-second knockout loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 in December.

That makes the odds of a Tate comeback even greater, and while “Cupcake” said her fighting days are almost certainly over, she hopes to keep herself linked to competitive martial arts by competing in submission-only grappling events.

“I love the submission grappling part of it; it’s definitely something that I plan to continuing doing,” Tate said. “(I have) no plans to come out of retirement, but it’s just that if, hypothetically, I was going to, which I’m not, but if I was, (Rousey is) the fight that I would want. That’s the only fight that appeals to me that would even maybe be interesting. But I think I’m past that point in my career – just ready to transition onto the next.”

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