UFC Return Of Women's MMA Pioneer Could End Up Hurting Her Legacy

Former UFC women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate will be returning to the Octagon nearly five years after announcing her retirement.

As told to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the 34-year old will be making her return to competition on July 17th against Marion Reneau.

Widely considered as one of the first big stars of women’s mixed martial arts (MMA), Tate made a name for herself during her time with Strikeforce, where she held the women’s bantamweight title.

It was also during her time in Strikeforce that she began a career-defining rivalry with women’s MMA star Ronda Rousey.

Rousey would dethrone Tate as Strikeforce’s 135-pound queen in 2012 by way of first-round submission.

That rivalry eventually carried over to the UFC when the two met in 2013. Rousey would again defeat Tate by submission to retain the title.

After losing to Rousey, Tate went on to win four-straight bouts and earned another shot at the intricately-crafted hardware, this time held by Holly Holm.

Tate made good on her second attempt at UFC gold by submitting Holm in the fifth and final round. She would lose the title to current champion Amanda Nunes and then lose to Raquel Pennington in her next fight.

Following the loss to Pennington, Tate announced her retirement from competition.

In 2018, Tate joined Singapore-based MMA promotion ONE Championship as a vice president.

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Tate has a professional MMA record of 18 wins and 7 losses, with 10 of those wins coming by stoppage.

Throughout her career, she has shared the cage with some of the best female fighters in Rousey, Nunes, Holm, Cat Zingano, Liz Carmouche and Marloes Coenen.

Tate's resume will no doubt put her in the conversation when talking about the best female fighters of all time. At this point, her legacy is set.

After almost five years of inactivity, however, will returning to the UFC possibly harm Tate's legacy?

In 2016, Tate herself admitted that it was time to retire because she felt that it was no longer her time anymore, having lost back-to-back matches. That was four years ago. Since retiring, she has become a mother twice over and has remained largely inactive due to her responsibilities with ONE Championship.

As good as Tate is--or was during her career--it's hard to see the former champion making another run at the title.

With possibly the best female fighter ever in Nunes currently holding the bantamweight trinket, it's even less likely that Tate becomes a two-time champion.

If Tate's return to the Octagon is all about continuing to do something that she loves to do, then, by all means, welcome back.

If she's realistically looking at another run at UFC gold, honestly speaking, it's far from reality to witness that happening. What's more is, if she ends up losing over and over again, it will likely put a wrinkle on her legacy.