UFC Vegas 43 went down last Sat. night (Nov. 20, 2021) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Joanne Wood, who was choked out by Taila Santos in the very first round (see it here).
And Michael Chiesa, who suffered his second straight loss after coming up short against Sean Brady (recap here). But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?
Miesha Tate.
After a near five-year hiatus, Tate returned to action to defeat Marion Reneau at UFC Vegas 31. But not a ton of people were convinced the “Cupcake” of old was back because, let’s face it, Reneau had lost four in a row and already announced her plans to retire post-fight.
Then came a tough challenge against Ketlen Vieira, a Top 10 challenger who had a 5-2 record coming into the fight. After 25 minutes of action, Vieira proved to be the superior fighter in “Sin City.” While Tate did try to be aggressive and push the pace, Vieira was a bit more accurate with her strikes.
The result was a busted up face for “Cupcake” and a unanimous decision victory for the Brazilian standout, who improves to 6-2 inside the Octagon and is now making a charge to the Top 5.
As for Tate, despite efforts to show her improvements in the striking game, she will now have to go back to the drawing board — though she was gracious in defeat.
“Hey we had fun tonight! I still feel like I evolved and in truth I was never tied to an outcome. Just happy to enjoy these moments,” Tate said in a social media post. “Thank you as always for the support and congratulations Ketlen Vieira. I thought it was close and I knew that there was a possibility she won. I did my best tonight and came up short. She’s the better woman, hat’s off to her. She’s great.”
“The real thing is about enjoying the journey,” Tate continued. “This is just a moment in time, you guys. This is an opportunity for me to grow. I had a great time tonight and it was an awesome opponent. I get to go home and kiss my two kids. Life is good, life is great. Thank you so much for supporting me.”
As for what’s next for the ex-champion, perhaps a showdown against Macy Chiasson is in order. Chiasson is ranked No. 11 at the moment and is on a two-fight win streak. While Chiasson doesn’t exactly give Tate a big name opponent, she will provide her a stiff challenge.
Giving Tate someone ranked in the Top 10 after her recent loss doesn’t make much sense, so this is as good as it’s going to get for the former 135-pound champion for the time being, at least until she gets back into the win column again.
For complete UFC Vegas 43 results and coverage click here.