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Miesha Tate got an all important win this past weekend (Aug. 18, 2012), defeating Julie Kedzie on the under card of Strikeforce: "Tate vs. Kaufman" in San Diego, Calif., in what was a very entertaining back-and-forth affair that saw "Takedown" end the bout in the final round with an impressive armbar submission.
The win marked her first after losing her 135-pound title to Ronda Rousey back in March of this year, inching her closer to a potential rematch with "Rowdy," seeing as how she took care of her own business in the night's main event by defeating Sarah Kaufman via first-round armbar to retain her title.
Or, maybe not.
After her win on Saturday, "Cupcake" revealed she didn't think she deserved a rematch with the Olympian Judoka and said that even though she is happy she got the "W," she wasn't too thrilled about her performance.
Having said that, in a rather surprising and unprecedented move, Tate says she will now take some time off from mixed martial arts (MMA) and look to rediscover herself and her love for the sport because, according to her, she doesn't feel that "fire and passion" she felt in her previous fights.
Check out Tate's comments about her current mind state and love for MMA via The MMA Hour, after the jump:
"I didn't feel the passion and fire I felt in all my previous fights. I felt out of my element, I didn't feel normal in there whatsoever. It was very strange, it was not a feeling I enjoyed and not something I want to experience again, I don't really know what my next step is here. Even when I was when lined up with Julie, across the cage, I was like, ‘Is this really happening right now? Am I really here? Am I really in this fight?' I felt like I was kind of just in this twilight zone. I did not like that. It's not how I normally feel, not how emotions really run. Normally I'm excited to be there, I'm amped and pumped, and I felt little to nothing, and I mean, she literally elbowed me and got my lip really good and I was like ‘ehh, whatever.' She kicked me in the face, ‘ehh, whatever,' It was not, it wasn't a normal circumstance for me I don't know why that is but I'm asking myself a lot of questions. I think I need to take a step back, relax a minute, and evaluate it. I need to find a way to fire myself up again and get that passion, because I know there's so much I still want to accomplish in MMA. I absolutely want to fight Ronda Rousey twice, but at this point, you know, mentally and emotionally, I'm not right. I shouldn't be getting into the cage if I'm not going into it wholeheartedly for this fight. It's hard for me to admit that, but that's the honest truth. I didn't feel like it for this fight like I did for other fights. I don't know how to explain that, I guess it's something I just have to figure out at this point."
Those aren't exactly the words you hear from someone who just participated and won one of the most entertaining fights of 2012.
Nevertheless, don't expect to see Tate inside the Hexagon anytime soon, at least not until she can rekindle that burning flame that allowed her to wreak havoc inside the cage that also helped her claim the Strikeforce bantamweight title.
How about it Maniac's, are you surprised at Tate's revelation? Could there be something else going on in her life that would force her to step away from the fight game, even if only for a little while?
Whatever it is she's looking for, here's to hoping she finds it, sooner rather than later.
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