Miesha Tate is taking her defeat to Lauren Murphy at UFC on ABC 3 in stride.
Tate (19-9 MMA, 6-6 UFC), a former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, made an unsuccessful first drop down to flyweight Saturday when she came out on the wrong end of a unanimous decision against Murphy (16-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y.
It was a tough go for Tate, who had her left eye and nose badly damaged by Murphy’s punches over the course of three rounds. The fight was set up perfectly for Tate to cut to a new division and earn a title shot against Valentina Shevchenko from the outset, but it didn’t go her way.
Tate isn’t further beating herself up over the outcome, though. She issued a statement in the hours after the fight and made it clear she won’t be discouraged by a losing result (via Instagram):
Some women pay a lot of money for lips like these! All I had to do was get in a little fist fight! Tonight wasn’t my night, congratulations to @laurenmurphymma and we continue to learn the lessons of life! I had the most UH-mazing dinner at my favorite restaurant @cheeseboatbk and met Mama Cheeseboat herself. I’m still blessed beyond measure win lose or draw! Thank you to all those who continue to love and support me regardless, you know who you are 💜
After retiring from the sport in late 2016 and being away for nearly five years, Tate now is 1-2 since resuming her fighting career. She’s now encountered roadblocks in top-five opponents at 135 and 125 pounds in the form of Ketlen Vieira and Murphy, leaving questions about her path to eventually regaining UFC gold.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 3.
