Ex-UFC Champ Miesha Tate Ends Retirement, Faces Marion Reneau on July 17

Miesha Tate will come out of retirement and lock horns with Marion Reneau at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on July 17.

The former UFC bantamweight queen confirmed the news to ESPN on Wednesday. Reneau, meanwhile, confirmed that it will be the last fight of her MMA career. The promotion has not announced location or headliner for the card, but it is expected to be a UFC Fight Night event.

Tate announced her retirement following a unanimous decision loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205 in November 2016. She claimed 135-pound gold with a submission of Holly Holm at UFC 196 but relinquished the title one bout later, falling to Amanda Nunes by rear-naked choke at UFC 200. Her rivalry with Ronda Rousey, which began in Strikeforce and continued in the UFC, helped give women a bigger stage in MMA.

Since her retirement, Tate has served as an executive and ambassadar for Singapore-based MMA promotion One Championship. According to the report, the UFC has the ability to waive the six-month USADA window required for athletes coming out of retirement and returning to the drug-testing pool. The promotion has not yet commented on Tate’s status in that regard.

"My heart is full of passion, the fire has been lit!" Tate told ESPN via text message. "The sport has been calling for me, it's time I answer.”

Reneau, meanwhile, is on the final fight of her UFC deal and is coming off a decision defeat to Macy Chiasson this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 21. The 43-year-old known as “The Belizean Bruiser” has lost four straight fights in the Octagon. She owns notable wins over the likes of Jessica Andrade and Sara McMann during her promotional tenure.

"I knew that my last fight would be when I was 43 or 44 years old," Reneau told ESPN. "Granted, I feel amazing. I feel the best I've ever felt. But there just comes a time when I feel it's time to move on and in my mind, I always knew I would finish out my contract and that was going to be it.

"I can't think of a better situation, just because I like to say I grew up watching Miesha. She was one of my first idols when I started fighting. I used to dream about fighting her, and now it's coming to pass in what happens to be my last hoorah.”