Returning UFC women’s bantamweight Miesha Tate has argued against the theory that Marion Reneau will be an easy opponent.
Tate, who is a former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, will be returning to the Octagon against the 44-year-old this weekend after a near five-year hiatus. After an adjustment to the card following the cancelation of Max Holloway’s scheduled headliner against Yair Rodriguez, the return of “Cupcake” will serve as the UFC Vegas 31 co-main event.
But despite Reneau riding a four-fight losing skid into what she’s admitted will likely be her last fight in the sport, Tate doesn’t believe “The Belizean Bruiser” is the easy opponent that many have described her as.
While speaking with MMA Junkie at UFC Vegas 31 media day, the former 135-pound champ revealed she hasn’t found a lot of holes in the game of Reneau, who she described as “very solid.”
“I think Marion is great. I just really admire her. I think she’s very solid. I don’t think she has a lot of holes in her game. She’s a black belt in ji jitsu. She has that strong submission over Sara McMann, so impressive. She has a great submission over Jéssica Andrade. And she stays and fights. The fights she has lost have always been very close. She’s lost a number of split decisions. She’s been on the verge of being a contender a number of times, and she just didn’t get a break.”
Tate added that the presence of Reneau’s son in her corner will create extra motivation for the Californian heading into their co-main event this weekend.
“But the way that I look at this fight and the Marion Reneau that I prepared for is a mother who’s gonna have her son in the corner for the first time, who’s gonna look at somebody that matters between rounds and say, ‘I don’t want to let that person down’. I can only imagine as a mother if I physically saw my children between the rounds, it’s gonna charge her. And she’s gonna come. She’s gonna bring it.”
Alongside the return of Miesha Tate, the UFC Vegas 31 card features a number of other intriguing matchups. In the headlining bout, one winning streak will end as rising Dagestani brute Islam Makhachev and Brazil’s Thiago Moisés make their main event debuts. Moisés, who is #14-ranked in the lightweight division, isn’t buying into the Russian’s hype and believes he can spring an upset.
With the likes of UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens, rising prospect Mateusz Gamrot, and entertaining welterweight Daniel Rodriguez all in action, Saturday’s card looks set to be another entertaining night of fights.
Do you think Miesha Tate will make a successful return at UFC Vegas 31?
