Miesha Tate declares MMA hiatus after gritty win over Julie Kedzie

Quote :: 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.

http://www.mmamania.com/2012/8/20/3256484/miesha-tate-time-off-julie-kedzie-strikeforce-san-diego-womens-mma

The difference is that this is the first fight she got beat up in. Everything is fun and games until you get the shit kicked out of you. This separates the true fighters form those just doing it for the fun of winning. Even in her loss to Rousey, she didn't really get beat up. It was a essentially a tie up, takedown, and tap.

Weel, she did say she felt funny before the fight even started, so I don't know. Maybe she's BSing, but whatever.

I was gonna mention that the author fucked up her nickname by referring to her old nickname of "Takedown" in the first paragraph, but then he later on correctly called her "Cupcake". Now I don't know what to say.....
scratch

She did not look like a happy camper after the fight. She kept pulling the hair down to cover the left side of her face while looking like she was enjoying her cupcake..... meh this one doesn't like getting hit anymore than Lesnar.

The difference is, she keeps fighting, where Lesnar does weird, little-kid-style cartwheels across the cage and then puts his hands up in front of his oddly colored beard to await the stoppage.

Triggerman99 wrote:: The difference is, she keeps fighting, where Lesnar does weird, little-kid-style cartwheels across the cage and then puts his hands up in front of his oddly colored beard to await the stoppage.

Yes ... but .... heh well ..no but, you're right! Tate tougher than Brock? Maybe... just maybe....

Well, with Lesnar leaving the WWE maybe he is poised for a return to fight Tate.... wait....

^^
Well played!

I know that was not easy for you.
LOL

I dont know, maybe she really is burnt out and just doesnt have the love for it right now. take her out of the game for a year or so and who knows, she may want back in and could be refreshed to the point where she could make another title run.

Tito,Hamill, Randy all did some thing along those lines.

I actually give her a lot of credit. She knows herself well enough to realize that something isn't right, so she might as well get it right before she goes back in there and looks horrible. I hear a lot of fighters who have 2 or 3 fight losing streaks and then come back and say "Yeah, my head just wasn't in it, but now I'm good. I'm back!". And we're all like "Who cares? You just lost 3 fights in a row."

I think its good that she figured this out now, instead of going in there half-assed and losing her credibility.

i see that this might be the end for her. maybe a couple more fights and thats it. because she is a woman and this is the first or second time that she got beat badly. i dont see the careers of female fighter being too long, unless they look like cyborg. firstly, they will probably want to have children and that is done usually late 20s to mid 30s. secondly, they wont want their bodies and faces ruined, thats just the nature of a woman. if i looked like her i wouldnt either. just like gina carano her looks might get her further than just fighting, so she needs to keep them intact. im sure, because rousey is also good looking, as soon as she gets hit in the face a lot and hard she will quit.

» Crazy Julie Kedzie story: in Russia with shit in her pants, getting hit on by an Italian Prime Minister
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» Miesha Tate Not Interested in Rematch with Ronda Rousey