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miesha tate

The upsets continue to roll in mixed martial arts and UFC 196 was no different, with Miesha Tate the latest under-dog story to capture the hearts of UFC fans.

“Cupcake” Tate defied the odds in Las Vegas, Nevada to defeat UFC Bantamweight champion Holly Holm in remarkable fashion. Going into the fifth round, all three judges had 34 year-old Holm up 38-37, with the momentum of the final five minutes in favour of Tate looking like the end result would be a draw.

However, with two minutes of the fight left, Tate dug deep and pressurised Holm with a takedown, taking her back and sinking in a deep rear naked choke to claim the second major 135lb title of her career. Although, in the true warriors spirit shown by Holm, she refused to tap – rather being choked unconscious in her first MMA career loss.

Almost five years after she notched her first world title in Strikeforce – an arm triangle choke over Marloes Coenen in July, 2011, Tate has once again reached the pinnacle of the sport.

With Nate Diaz also upsetting the odds in the main event against Conor McGregor, you’d be forgiven if you forget it was red panty night, as Tate told ESPN’s SportsCenter post-event: “It’s a red boxer brief night” as she celebrated the crowning moment of her career at the MGM Grand.

In another post-UFC 196 revealing chat, Tate also cited extra motivation behind her title win: “Bryan’s nephew, who’s really close to the family, 22 year’s old, had a severe, near death logging accident and he’s been basically in a coma for about a week.”

She added: “I just told myself, I’ve got to win this belt, so that when he wakes up, and he will, that I’m going to wrap that around him and he’s going to wake up with a beautiful, shiny belt.”

The future looks bright in the Women’s Bantamweight division, once criticised for it’s lack of depth, the potential match-ups on the horizon will surely bring UFC matchmaker Joe Silva a severe headache.

Alongside Tate and Holm, adding into the equation former champion Ronda Rousey; who holds two submission wins over Tate, as well as Cat Zingano – the last women to beat Tate, mixing in the age old saying that styles make fights, it definitely could be a turbulent 2016 for the 135lb championship belt.