“Champ is ready for war” - Miesha Tate’s intense training ignites fan excitement as UFC octagon return date inches closer

Miesha Tate is putting in the work to prepare for her return to the Octagon.

Over the past two years, Tate has only fought twice under the UFC banner. Despite being inactive, the 37-year-old’s superstar status as a former UFC champion would have her in title contention with only a few wins. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone her way recently.

In November 2021, ‘Cupcake’ suffered a unanimous decision loss against Ketlen Vieira. Tate wouldn’t fight again for eight months, when she suffered another unanimous decision defeat, this time against Lauren Murphy after moving down to flyweight.

Tate wasn’t a fan of the extended cut to flyweight, so she’s now returning to the women’s bantamweight division. On December 2, ‘Cupcake’ will be featured on the UFC Austin preliminary card, where she is scheduled to face Julia Avila.

The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion has added motivation to end her two-fight losing streak. She recently provided an update to her fans by sharing photos of her training on Instagram. The social media post was captioned:

““Nothing will work unless you do” -Maya Angelou 10 days until fight day”

Fans filled the Instagram comment section with support of Miesha Tate:

"Champ is ready for war"

"So excited for Dec 2nd !! You got this !!"

"You can’t f*ck with Cupcake! 💪💪🔥🔥"

"Waiting for the day @mieshatate. My prayers are with you!"

"Getting Closer for Fight Night Train Hard Miesha I will be watching it for Sure"

"TEAM MIESHA 😍"

"You are powerful 👏"

Instagram comments

Miesha Tate’s upcoming opponent, Julia Avila, made her UFC debut in July 2019. Since then, she’s established a promotional record of 3-1, including two wins inside the distance. ‘Raging Panda’ last fought in June 2021, defeating Julija Stoliarenko by third-round submission.

---

What’s at stake for Miesha Tate in her upcoming UFC fight?

Miesha Tate was once on top of the MMA world after defeating Holly Holm to become the UFC women’s bantamweight champion. Tate has shown there’s more gas left in the tank but hasn’t received the results she has wanted, creating a need for a win at UFC Austin.

'Cupcake' is currently the 12th-ranked women’s bantamweight, with Julia Avila closely behind at thirteen. Therefore, the winner between them could find themselves in a top-ten matchup next time out.

Considering the length of depth in the division, two or three wins could put either fighter in the title picture.

If Tates loses at UFC Austin, she might contemplate retirement, as a third consecutive loss would likely mean she will never fight for a world title again. It’ll be intriguing to see if she can shut down that possibility by emerging victorious against Avila.