Before Miesha Tate was booked for a fight with Yana Santos on the upcoming UFC Des Moines card, she was actually pursuing a rematch with Old Foe Holly Holm.
It’s been more than nine years since she defeated Holm, and it ended with her winning the UFC Bantamweight title and Tate sinking in the fifth naked choke to win the fight. After sitting in 2024 and dealing with injuries and other duties outside the cage, Tate asked the UFC for a rematch, but afterwards she got that Holm was actually out of the promotion.
“It was originally something I put my heart down,” Tate told MMA that he was fighting Holm’s rematch. “That’s what I want to happen, unfortunately I missed the window above it.
“Holly, I think I was already out of the UFC by the time I reached out to her. She wanted to make it happen. I think it was in line too. I don’t want to talk for either party, but unfortunately it wasn’t her and I was able to push enough to make it happen.”
It was amazing news that Holm called for her release despite still having a fight on the UFC contract.
Following his exit from the UFC, Holm signed with the Global Fight League, booked in May for a fight against former Bellator champion Julia Bad, but the fledgling promotion canceled both his debut show. For now, GFL is reportedly still trying to put together funds for launch, but many athletes have already called for release on concerns that the company will never get off the ground.
The GFL may not have resolved as planned, but Holm is now pursuing an opportunity to return to boxing, where she was a multi-time champion. In 2022, Holm was actually inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, so she is clearly very accomplished in that sport.
Still, Tate wanted her to run it in Holm again before their careers were over, but that was just not intended – at least not now.
“I feel like Holly probably wanted her release. “That’s what I feel. Of course, I’m not her manager, not her teammate. We don’t talk regularly. I don’t want to say much.
“We both knew we wanted to fight each other. We both did. But when I asked the UFC about it, it was “the only way out of this organization.” At that point, I didn’t know that she was looking for a release.
Ultimately, Holm wanted the UFC and her wish was accepted, but Tate had no desire to leave the promotion, which she called home for over the past 11 years.
Hoping to secure her second consecutive victory when she returns to UFC Des Moines, Tate hopes to return to title competition sooner later, which takes priority over a potential rematch against Holm.
“That’s a shame, but I still wanted to fight for the UFC,” Tate said. “I wanted to make it happen, so at least at this point I wasn’t trying to go outside the UFC to have that matchup happen.”