Former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate is officially returning to the octagon after retiring from the sport in 2016.
UFC President Dana White was asked if that meant we could potentially see the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tate’s former rival Ronda Rousey return one day, he was adamant that Tate’s situation was completely different.
The UFC President’s tough position is that fighters come out of retirement when they need money. That put him in a disadvantageous position when it came to Nurmagomedov, who laid out the reasons for hanging up his gloves after defending his title in October at UFC 254.
“I think it’s for money, and Khabib isn’t going to need any money any time soon,” White told the media. “So, in the last dinner that we just had, I feel like he’s done. He feels like his fighting was a lot of pressure on his parents, and then what just went down with his dad, and now he’s looking at his mom saying, ‘I just can’t do this to my mother.’”
White wasn’t quite sure what exactly motivated Tate to return to the cage after five years of retirement. He mentioned that the ex-champ did things out of order when she walked away from the sport, but he added that didn’t necessarily play into her current situation of making a comeback.
“I honestly don’t know what her reason is, but when she left, women are kind of different when they retire,” he said. “She went out and started a family, and I told her … and I haven’t talked to her face-to-face about this, but I told her after the last fight, she got her nose fixed, and I told her not to fix her nose. When you’re done fighting, I’ll fix your nose. We’ll get your nose taken care of, you go to the best guy in LA and get your nose done.
“She did it, and then she fought Amanda. And you’ll see in that fight, Amanda punches her right in the nose, and you saw her fold. I saw it happen right there, the night of the fight. So she went and had a family. She’s had five years now. I guarantee her nose is a lot better. It will be interesting to see how she does. I think she’s going to do well.”
And when it comes to the former world champ Ronda Rousey, White said he spoke with the once-dominant champ on Wednesday, he said fighting couldn’t be further from her mind.
“Don’t even f*cking start, you guys,” White said. “Yesterday about lots of different things, not this. Absolutely, positively not coming back, ever.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)
While it would be incredible to see all 3 back in the Octagon again one day, it does seem rather unlikely that will be the case. It will be quite the scene when Tate returns in July however, as the former champion will look to gain some momentum towards another title fight.
Do you think Dana White is right? Will Ronda Rousey never return to MMA?