Tacoma native Miesha Tate on nearly retiring before winning the UFC bantamweight title

Tacoma’s own Miesha Tate shocked the world just over a month ago, defeating Holly Holm at UFC 196 in Las Vegas to claim the promotion’s women’s bantamweight championship. But perhaps the most shocking part of that fight isn’t the fact that she won, but that it occurred at all.

The 29-year-old Tate, who had stated publicly before receiving the shot against Holm that she was considering retirement from MMA, told 710 ESPN Seattle’s Bob Stelton on “Get in the Cage” that her statement was more than just bluster after being snubbed for a fight against previous champion Ronda Rousey.

“I was contemplating it (retirement), not because I felt like physically or mentally or emotionally that I didn’t have it anymore — I felt like I was still competitive … but because I was frustrated in that I thought I wasn’t ever gonna get a title shot again. I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not fighting for a participation ribbon,'” said Tate, who won a Washington state wrestling title as a senior in 2005 for Franklin Pierce High School. “I want to be the best in the world and if they’re not going to afford me that opportunity then I don’t know what I’m doing this for. That was kind of my dilemma. I just wanted to fight for the title because I wanted to be the champion because I knew I could (be), and luckily the crazy turn of events when Holly knocked out Ronda, that’s kinda what was a big turning point for me.”

That knockout kick by Holm to Rousey last November created a huge opportunity for Tate, who quickly found herself getting the title shot she wanted at one of the biggest shows in UFC history. She didn’t disappoint, overcoming the difficulty that the left-handed Holm poses by hanging in for a five-round contest, eventually catching Holm with a rear-naked choke that brought home her first UFC gold.

Tate’s first title defense is set for UFC 200 on July 9 against Amanda Nunes, but the fighting world is understandably hoping she’ll hang on to the belt long enough to face Rousey, her longtime adversary and arguably the biggest name in MMA today. The potential of a fight is especially intriguing considering Tate has tapped out to Rousey in their two previous meetings — in the first round of a 2012 fight for the Strikeforce promotion, then in the third round in a 2013 UFC bout.

For her part, it sounds like Tate will welcome the chance to renew the rivalry that was responsible for bringing women to UFC in the first place.

“I enjoy talking about her as much as anyone enjoys talking about their arch-nemesis,” she said. “I’m thankful — even though she obviously irritates the crap out of me — I’m still thankful that I have her as a rival because it has made such a big splash in this sport, such a big name, and our rivalry really was the turning point for women’s mixed martial arts.”

Before Tate’s Strikeforce fight with Rousey, UFC president Dana White had kept women off cards due to what he perceived as a lack of depth and entertaining matches in the division. That all changed after he caught a glimpse of the Rousey-Tate rivalry.

“I’m being completely unbiased and honest in saying that, when her and I fought in Strikeforce the first time, that’s what changed Dana White’s mind to let women into the UFC, because we had a storyline that people cared about, a lot of people tuned in, we headlined the card, and we showed toughness, skillset, determination, and (it was) competitive. It was a really great fight. … Ronda and I came along and he was like, ‘Oh, these two can fight. This might be the ticket that I was looking for.'”

And it just might be again.

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