Miesha Tate hadn’t competed in 17 months prior, but she dominated her way to victory Saturday in her bantamweight return.
On the UFC on ESPN 52 prelims at Moody Center in Austin, Texas, Tate (21-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) defeated Julia Avila (9-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) by submission at 1:15 of Round 3.
From the opening seconds of the fight, Tate out-grappled Avila with strong, heavy wrestling and frequent submission attempts. Although Avila did just enough to deny earlier submission tries, she failed to do so early in Round 3 when Tate locked in a rear-naked choke. The tap came quickly.
Pure dominance by Miesha Tate #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/MvU51tpdQN
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 2, 2023
After the fight, a fired-up Tate mentioned the hard work she put in during training camp and how she was motivated by frequent mentions of “retirement” by MMMA conversationalists.
Despite her domination, Tate appeared to suffer a leg injury and was carried out of the cage by fiancé Johnny Nunez.
Miesha Tate is carried out of the octagon by her husband after a DOMINANT win over Julia Avila at #UFCAustin.
What's next for the former champ? pic.twitter.com/oBDIMs055f
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) December 3, 2023
Tate, 37, moves to 2-2 since he returned from retirement in 2021. Tate attempted flyweight in her previous bout, a lopsided loss to Lauren Murphy in July 2022, but plans to stick at bantamweight.
Returning from pregnancy, Avila had not competed since June 2021. Avila, 35, falls to 1-2 in her most recent three bouts.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 52 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.
