UFC: Miesha Tate drops to flyweight to fight Lauren Murphy, and targets Valentina Shevchenko
- Former UFC bantamweight champ and ONE Championship exec will make the move to 125 pounds
- ‘I’m already looking at Valentina,’ Tate says, with 35-year-old insisting she might have found her ‘true weight class’
Miesha Tate is heading down to the flyweight division.
Tate, the former UFC bantamweight champion, announced her intention to change divisions on The MMA Hour on Monday.
Soon thereafter, it was reported by MMAFighting.com that the former bantamweight queen will debut in the division opposite former title challenger Lauren Murphy on May 14.
“I have made the commitment to go down to 125 [pounds],” Tate told host Ariel Helwani on the show.
Tate has spent most her career competing in the 135-pound bantamweight division, with a few forays up to the 145-pound featherweight class earlier in her career.
After losing a decision to Ketlen Vieira in her last fight, however, the 35-year-old began to wonder if greener pastures could be found in a lighter division.
“I automatically assumed 135 was always my weight class because that’s all there ever was,” she said. “When I got into Strikeforce, it was only 135 and 145. When I got into the UFC, it was only 135. By the time 125 came around, I was so enveloped at 135 trying to win that title.”