Ronda Rousey’s biggest rival questions UFC future following recent loss

One former opponent of UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey is contemplating her fighting future.

UFC Des Moines took place on May 3 and it featured a slew of action, which was capped off by Cory Sandhagen defeating former UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo. The featured preliminary fight on that card was a clash between former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate and Yana Santos.

Tate lost the bout via unanimous decision, dropping her to 2-5 in her last seven outings.

RELATED: UFC DES MOINES RESULTS: YANA SANTOS DEFEATS MIESHA TATE (HIGHLIGHTS)

Miesha Tate Questions Future

At the height of her pro MMA career, Miesha Tate was Ronda Rousey’s biggest rival. While “Cupcake” was unable to defeat “Rowdy” in two tries, she did capture UFC gold from Holly Holm, the fighter who handed Rousey’s her first career defeat in MMA.

Fast forward to 2025, and Tate has taken to her Instagram account to address her recent loss.

“There’s been a few things on my mind since my fight,” Tate wrote. “I feel like I should share them with you. While I had a great time competing once again in the Octagon, we don’t always get the outcome we hoped for. Yana came in prepared and fought a smart fight, I knew it would be tough! great team, great coaches and a great work ethic! Congratulations to her! After an 18 month layoff, I will share why it took so long to come back… Also, I’m curious what you thought about the fight?? Thank you for being a part of my journey.”

Tate also posted a video to go along with her post. She admitted that her prizefighting future is uncertain.

“I am not making any final decisions,” Tate said. “[It] remains to be seen whether I will fight again or not. I’m not going to clarify either of those because I think there is no right or wrong answer.”

Tate made her pro MMA debut back in Nov. 2007. She competed in a tournament under the long defunct BodogFIGHT banner. Tate ended up joining the Strikeforce roster, where she became the promotion’s women’s bantamweight champion. Her first encounter with Rousey took place in 2012, and “Rowdy” picked up the first-round submission finish. Rousey submitted Tate again in late 2013, this time under the UFC banner.