Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate has shot down the idea of retiring from mixed martial arts.

Throughout the course of her UFC career, Miesha Tate has been recognised as a big fan favourite across the sport – and for good reason. From her title win to her attitude in and out of the cage, the veteran has never been one to turn down a challenge.

However, since returning to the promotion following her first retirement, she’s gone 1-2 which included lopsided decision defeats at the hands of Ketlen Vieira and Lauren Murphy.

Some have called for the 35-year-old to walk away but in true ‘Cupcake’ fashion, she’s adamant that she wants to continue.

"I don't NEED to fight, I just WANT to." @MieshaTate says she won't give up on her fight future and opens up on her plan to find a sports psychologist ahead of her next octagon appearance.

⬇️ Hear ALL of Miesha's thoughts w/ @RyanMcKinnell now!https://t.co/8BGNQ8vSK0 pic.twitter.com/7STL8x1Sbl

— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) July 25, 2022

“I’m at a very great point in my life,” Tate said. “Not like Chapter One. Chapter One was kind of toxic and a lot of turmoil and [fighting] was like my outlet and my identity. It’s none of those things for me anymore, so as I continue to evolve – and life is great. It’s very kush and I have everything that I need. I don’t need to fight. I just want to. I want to do better than I did this time, so I’m not going to give up. But this is a whole new challenge. I just need to get my mindset a little bit more gritty, a little bit more right, a little bit more – ‘I’ve got to have it.’ Not just there to have fun. Like, ‘I’ve got to have it.’ I just don’t feel like I hit the nail on the head with that this time.”

“As soon as I get a good sports physiologist and start to unravel or figure out how to channel, I think I’ll have more idea,” Tate said. “I don’t know how long it takes. It might be a really simple fix. The performance, my physical ability, the shape that I’m in, the way I train, the skillset that I have, is all there. I just have to put it in the right place at the right time.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Should Miesha Tate retire from MMA?