'I almost cried tears of joy' - Miesha Tate describes her feelings on returning to the octagon after five years at UFC Vegas 31

Miesha Tate described how joyful she felt in the wake of her big return win over Marion Reneau last night.

After being away from the sport of mixed martial arts for almost five years, Miesha Tate made a triumphant statement at UFC Vegas 31. She did so by finishing Reneau to establish herself as a contender once again. It’s been a long time coming with some believing she’d never make the walk again. After years of uncertainty regarding her future, Miesha Tate proved why she’s still capable of mixing it up with the very best in her division.

Miesha Tate - still elite

During her post-fight press conference, Tate spoke about the true elation she felt upon getting her hand raised:

“I got a little emotional on the walkout. It was about half way through and I almost felt like I was gonna cry tears of joy, because I was like ‘god I just can’t believe I’m here right now’. This fight had been a year in the making, and longer if I look at the journey before I even decided I was gonna come back. But now, in hindsight, all of that got me to this point.”

Nobody has ever been able to deny that Miesha Tate earned her spot at the top of the mountain. If she’s able to get back there, or even come close, it’ll be a tremendous testament to her spirit and courage in the face of a whole lot of doubters.

Now, the focus needs to shift to what her immediate future is going to look like in MMA and the UFC.

It doesn’t feel particularly likely that Miesha Tate will immediately be thrust back into a rematch against Amanda Nunes. This is mainly because we already know just how dominant Nunes is. You also have to think about how big of a step up in competition that would be for Tate, who is returning after so much time away.

The next twelve months of her career should be very interesting as 'Cupcake' attempts to write an intriguing second chapter.