Miesha Tate announced her retirement at UFC 205 after she suffered her second successive bantamweight defeat.
After arresting the bantamweight title from Holly Holm during the year, Tate then encountered a major setback when she was comprehensively defeated in her first title defence against Amanda Nunes.
And after losing again to Raquel Pennington at Madison Square Garden, Tate declared that this was the end for her.
Speaking to UFC's Joe Rogan after the fight, Tate said:
"I want to say congratulations to Raquel, I'm incredibly proud of her. She's a member of my team and I'm excited to see her do so well. But I'm announcing my retirement you guys, I love y'all so much. I've been doing this for over a decade, thank you so much for being here, I'll love this sport forever but it's not my time anymore, it's the future's time."
Explaining her reasoning behind the decision, Tate confessed that the defeat to Pennington ultimately influenced her to retire.
"It's because of the result. I felt I had more to give but I couldn't pull it out of myself. It's been a long time taking a lot of punishment, I still love this sport and I love you guys so much but this is it for me."
Pennington was among the droves of people who paid tribute to Tate after the announcement.
Much respect to @MieshaTate keep ur head up and ur heart strong! Thanks for the fight and the words we shared in this moment. #sportsmanship pic.twitter.com/60sXkE0bN7
— Raquel Pennington (@RockyPMMA) November 13, 2016
You are an ambassador of the sport and an inspiration to me. You will be missed @MieshaTate
— Paige VanZant (@PaigeVanzantUFC) November 13, 2016
Congrats on a great career @mieshatate you helped open many doors for #WMMA its women like us who created this platform
— Cris Cyborg (@criscyborg) November 13, 2016
I heart @MieshaTate
— Chris Wade (@CWadeMMA) November 13, 2016
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