Miesha Tate’s return to the UFC was marked off by a victory earlier in July, but the former Bantamweight champion succumbed to a surprising loss in her second outing since the comeback, this time against Ketlen Vieira in the main event of UFC Vegas 43 at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, with the no 7 ranked Brazilian fighter picking up a win via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46).
The fight opened up with heavy offense from Vieira’s side, with Tate pulling through the opening round adding some strikes from her side along with a wrestler’s approach, however, it was Vieira who attempted a takedown on Tate late into the first round, before being told by her corner to switch to a boxing approach.
The ‘Fenômeno’ did the same and in the second round, startled Tate with some vicious yet clean strikes adding in some calf kicks. The former UFC champion continued to focus on making connections with her right hand but she was the one being overwhelmed.
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The scenario changed a bit in the third round with ‘Cupcake’ starting to press as Vieira’s offense seemed to calm down, as Tate switched to takedown attempts. However, Vieira was able to come back strong in the remaining rounds, and her brutal strikes caused Tate to end up bloodied. At the end of the fifth round, the judges scored the fight 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in favour of Vieira, who marked the biggest victory of her career.
“I was very hesitant,” said Vieira after the win, “Miesha Tate is a world champion and one of the best in the world. I did not want to be taken down and I was really confident in the last two rounds. … I wish I felt in the whole fight like I felt in the last two rounds.”
“I had fun. That’s the number one priority, have fun,” Tate revealed, “I thought it was really close. I wasn’t sure. I thought it was close and there was a possibility she won. I did my best and she was the better woman tonight. My hat is off to her.”
Check out the full UFC Vegas 43 fight card results below:
- Ketlen Vieira defeats Miesha Tate via unanimous decision (48-47 x2, 49-46)
- Sean Brady defeats Michael Chiesa via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
- Taila Santos defeats Joanne Wood via submission (rear-naked choke) (Round 1, 4:49)
- Rani Yahya defeats Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
- Adrian Yanez defeats Davey Grant via split decision (27-30, 29-28 x2)
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