Not-delusional Miesha Tate will defeat Amanda Nunes — if Julianna Pena doesn’t beat her to it

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate is coming out of retirement to make one last run at the 135-pound title, which has not changed hands since “Cupcake” surrendered the strap to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200.

That could change when Julianna Pena attempts to pull the sword from the proverbial stone as one half of the UFC 265 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event next month in Houston, where “The Venezuelan Vixen” gets five rounds to slay “Lioness” inside Toyota Center.

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HIGH STAKES LIGHTWEIGHT MATCHUP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to UFC APEX on Sat., Sept. 23, 2023, with a high stakes 155-pound showdown as No. 6-ranked contender, Rafael Fiziev, takes on No. 7-seeded Mateusz Gamrot. In UFC Vegas 79’s co-main event, No. 12-ranked Featherweight contender, Bryce Mitchell, steps back into the Octagon against No. 13-seeded Dan Ige.

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“I’m excited for her and I want her to do it. But if she doesn’t do it, I believe I will,” Tate told MMA Fighting. “It’s a tall order. I know. A lot of people think I’m delusional, I know. I know I’m crazy but everyone thought I was crazy before. I was the underdog going in against Holly [Holm] and look you’ve got to dream big. If you’re not dreaming big then you’re cheating yourself.”

Tate’s big dream begins in the UFC Vegas 31 co-main event this Sat. night (July 17, 2021) inside APEX in Las Vegas, where “Cupcake” will battle veteran bruiser Marion Reneau. It will mark the first bout for Tate since losing to Raquel Pennington back in late 2016.

“I can’t get ahead of myself but I do have long term goals,” Tate continued. “My long term goal is to be a world champion again. Short term goal, don’t underestimate Marion Reneau. She’s tough as shit and I know she’s going to bring it on July 17.”

To see who else is fighting at UFC Vegas 31 click here.