Miesha Tate lost her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title to Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 200.Nunes won via tapout in the first round after delivering a massive punch to Tate’s face, breaking her nose and stunning her. Nunes quickly took Tate down and applied a rear naked choke, forcing Tate to tap out.
Nunes’ win marks the third consecutive women’s bantamweight fight in which the title has changed hands.Previously, Ronda Rousey lost to Holly Holm back in November, then Holm lost her first title defense to Tate in March. Nunes last lost in November 2014.
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The Tate-Nunes fight was the UFC’s third try at a main event for UFC 200. A scheduled rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz was scrapped when McGregor refused to appear at a commercial filming for UFC. Then, a Jon Jones/Michael Cormier fight was pulled when Jon Jones’ drug sample came back positive.Tate nearly put this fight into jeopardy when she nearly missed weight after using an improperly calibrated scale during training.
Nunes entered the fight as a heavy underdog and relative unknown. She had only reached the third round of three of her previous fights and had no experience in a full five round match. Nunes was considered the more athletic of the pair, but Tate was seen as a better grappler and fighter.
Should Nunes retain her new championship, she’ll likely face Rousey if the popular fighter returns to the UFC this fall.
