Miesha Tate announces retirement after loss at UFC 205

It’s the end of a rollercoaster career for Miesha Tate.

From realizing her dream and winning the UFC women’s bantamweight title when she defeated Holly Holm early this year to losing it by devastating first-round knockout at the hands of Amanda Nunes shortly thereafter, Tate has just about done it all.

And now it’s time for her to say goodbye.

After losing to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205, the former champion shocked the MMA world by announcing her retirement from the sport at Madison Square Garden.

“It’s not my time right now, I’ve been doing this for over a decade,” Tate said. “Thank you so much for being here, I love this sport forever but it’s not my time anymore.”

The 30-year-old ends her career with a record of 18-7. Although she reached the pinnacle of her career by beating Holm for the banatamweight title in March, she’ll likely be remembered for her heated rivalry with Ronda Rousey that started in Strikeforce and carried over to the UFC.

She dropped the Strikeforce title to Rousey in 2012 and the two had a vitriolic relationship with her ever since.

The two were coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter,” which led to a rematch that saw Tate lose to Rousey a second time. But Tate never gave up and finally claimed the gold by beating Holm at UFC 196. She dropped it to Nunes at UFC 200 and failed in her bounce back attempt against Pennington, who she coached on “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Evidently, it was time for Tate to pass the torch.