Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate successfully made the drop down to 125 pounds ahead of her Lauren Murphy fight on the UFC Long Island main card this Sat. afternoon (July 16, 2022) inside UBS Arena at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
“Cupcake” comfortably tipped the scale at 125.8 pounds during the early (and official) weigh ins on Friday morning (get complete results and video here) and the former ONE Championship Vice President insists she was always a flyweight competing in the body of a bantamweight.
Check out her before and after pics below:
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125.8 pounds for UFC Long Island (2022) vs. 135 pounds for UFC Japan (2014)
Photo credit: Katie Schmeichel/Zuffa LLC (L), Mitch Viquez/Zuffa LLC (R)
The farther back we go, the more dramatic the difference.
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125.8 for UFC Long Island (2022) vs. 135 for Strikeforce “Fedor vs. Henderson” (2011)
Photo credit: Katie Schmeichel/Zuffa LLC (L), Josh Hedges/Forza LLC (R)
It’s not unreasonable to think the 19-8 Tate, who turns 36 in just a few weeks, can earn a 125-pound title shot against reigning division champion Valentina Shevchenko with a commanding performance against Murphy this weekend in “The Empire State.”
Murphy (15-5) is a former title challenger and currently ranked No. 3 in the division. Since Shevchenko already defeated the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked fighters, there’s no reason to keep Tate out of the title picture, unless UFC wants a definitive ending to this recent rivalry.
But none of that matters unless “Cupcake” ices “Lucky” tomorrow in Elmont.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Long Island fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 11 a.m. ET, followed by the ABC/ESPN+ main card start time at 2 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Long Island news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archives here, here, and here. For the updated and finalized “Ortega vs. Rodriguez” fight card and ABC/ESPN/ESPN+ lineup click here.