Miesha Tate reached out to UFC president Dana White in the summer of 2020. Tate and her husband, Johnny Nunez, had just had their second child, Daxton, and Tate was contemplating a comeback to the Octagon.
At the time, Tate and Nunez were living in Singapore. Tate was working in an office role for Asia-based One Championship and Nunez was fighting for that MMA promotion. But COVID-19 restrictions were making things difficult for the young family and they were planning on moving back home to Las Vegas.
With those thoughts in mind, Tate sent White a message on Instagram asking what the UFC boss thought about her — the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion — returning to competition for the first time since 2016. White, Tate said, saw the message. But he never responded.
“He totally ghosted me,” Tate said with a laugh.
Despite the lack of communication from White, Tate and Nunez went forward with their move back to the United States. Tate returned to Vegas with Daxton and their daughter, Amaia, that September. And in early 2021, Tate took things a step further with the UFC. She showed up unannounced to White’s office.
This time, he had no choice but to listen to her pitch. Tate said White was hesitant at first, but a few weeks later she was booked for a return bout against Marion Reneau. Tate won by third-round TKO — her first knockout in the UFC. “Cupcake,” one of the most popular women to ever set foot in the cage, was back.
On Saturday, Tate will take the next step on her comeback tour against Ketlen Vieira in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas (3 p.m. on ESPN+). ESPN ranks Vieira No. 8 in the world at women’s bantamweight. Tate, 35, is hoping a rehauled training regimen and renewed mindset helps vault her into a historic 2022.
The goals Tate has for next year are lofty ones: a title shot against Amanda Nunes, a title defense against former champion Holly Holm and a dream third fight against her heated rival, Ronda Rousey. Nunes has been the UFC women’s bantamweight champion since she choked out Tate to win the belt at UFC 200 in July 2016. Tate retired four months later.
“I think I can get the division spiced up a little bit,” Tate said. “I think that women in the division, they’re gonna be gunning for me — just as much as they’re gunning for Amanda.”
The TKO over Reneau, who had never been finished before, and Tate’s acceptance of the fight against Vieira should be seen as a statement, Nunez said. Tate isn’t back in the UFC just to hunt down big-money fights, even though she could, given her significant following. She wants to work her way back up the ranks and become the best 135-pound fighter in the world again.
“She’s a weirdo,” Nunez said with a laugh. “I love her to death, but she is that type. She couldn’t care less about the money, really. She wants to dig down deep and test herself and show our kids that anything is possible pretty much through hard work.”
Tate was surprised at her home eight days before the Vieira fight by USADA, the UFC’s anti-drug partner. The doping control officers took samples of her blood and urine for testing. Tate joked that USADA officials must have been browsing her Instagram selfies.
“I’m shredded,” Tate said with a laugh. “I’m like 12% body fat. They just can’t believe it.”
Nunez, an Ultimate Fighter veteran, has seen a marked difference in Tate during training. “Especially now when she’s in such good shape and stuff, I can’t take a second off with her,” he said. “I always have to be at the top of my game. She’ll catch me sometimes. Then I gotta hear it from her and she’s gonna tell people that she subbed me.”
Tate has completely changed her strength and conditioning regimen since returning from retirement. She’s working remotely with the Treigning Lab’s Sam Calavitta, who coaches the likes of former UFC men’s bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, and on site in Las Vegas with trainer Korey Goodwin. Since she fought Reneau in July, Tate said she’s put on five pounds of lean muscle. Nunez said the detail-oriented Calavitta has Tate’s weight cut down to the calorie.
That is a far cry from Tate’s pre-retirement training camps, which Nunez described as “old school.” Nunez and Tate were not a couple until after her retirement in 2016, but they were teammates at Xtreme Couture. At the time, Tate’s camps were led by her ex-boyfriend, Bryan Caraway. Tate has been public about how what she has described as a toxic relationship affected her training and performances. That’s one of the main motivating factors behind her coming back now, she said — to see if she can achieve the potential she didn’t think she was able to reach before.
“I think it would be such a shame to leave the sport the way that I did, knowing that I was never allowed to or I was never able to give my full 100%,” Tate said. “Whether I become a champion or not, I had to do this for me.”
And that’s also the reason why recently she has been thinking about Rousey. The two had one of the most historic rivalries in mixed martial arts in the early part of the last decade. In many ways, the Rousey vs. Tate feud helped women’s MMA blow up, first in Strikeforce and then in the UFC. Rousey owns two armbar submission wins over Tate, in 2012 and 2013. Tate said her relationship with Caraway was a “detriment” to her and Rousey knew it — and exploited it.
“She knew part of the kryptonite for me was in my former relationship. [She] was causing the rift between him and I so that everything was unstable in the personal life,” Tate said. “I think I went into those fights so congested in my mind. I really wasn’t able to be just fighting her. I was also fighting myself. I was also fighting my relationship. I was also fighting all these extenuating circumstances.”
Tate said it would be a “dream” for Rousey to return from retirement, adding, “I know I have what it takes to beat Ronda Rousey.”
But Tate doesn’t want anyone to take her opinion as a direct challenge. Rousey just had her first child with husband Travis Browne in September, and Tate respects that.
“Don’t get me twisted,” Tate said. “I’m not trying to call out a brand-new mama. This has to be something she wants, too. I wouldn’t want to just call her out. She’s doing her thing, she’s retired. I would want to fight her at her best. If she chose she wanted to come back and she was like, ‘I want to come back and fight Miesha Tate’ or whoever, I would love another shot at her. But only if she was taking it seriously and she was training at her best and that’s what she wants, too.”
play
1:03
Miesha Tate discusses how happy she was to be back in octagon at UFC Vegas 31.
Rousey vs. Tate 3 might not be realistic. Rousey has given no indication she wants to fight again. But Tate’s other goals for next year could be within reach. Tate has said from the moment she signed to fight Reneau that she wants another crack at Nunes. A win over Vieira, Tate believes, could get her that shot.
“I think a dominant win over her puts me, for sure, in the top five,” Tate said. “And I understand it could definitely put me in a No. 1 contender conversation. I think it depends on the performance.”
That’s very much on her mind as she prepares for this fight. Tate said she used the momentum from the Reneau finish to jump right back into training camp for Vieira. The fight was supposed to happen last month, but Tate tested positive for COVID-19, which she says has had no real ill effects on her training.
Tate wants very badly to make up for that lackluster, first-round defeat to Nunes in the main event of UFC 200. She envisions in which she wins the title back from Nunes in 2022 and Holm is her first challenger. Tate beat Holm to win the title at UFC 196 in March 2016 and Tate believes that rematch would make for the “perfect story.”
Of course, all these gold-lined roads for Tate first must go through Vieira. That’s fine, she said. Because if you weren’t convinced by her TKO win over Reneau, “then let me just sell you again Nov. 20,” Tate said.
An impressive victory could open up all kinds of fascinating matchups next year, fights that could infuse the women’s bantamweight division with some much-needed pizzazz. Tate is thinking big and is ready to back up her vision with her fists. On Saturday, she has a chance to open up the kind of possibilities that even White, the UFC president, cannot ignore.
“Title, Holly Holm, Ronda Rousey,” Tate said. “I would love it.”
A civil lawsuit accusing BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff of rape has been dismissed, according to court records.
The parties jointly agreed to dismiss with prejudice, ending the case which was filed last month. None of the parties was immediately available for comment.
Retzlaff now plans to transfer from BYU as he faces a possible seven-game suspension for violating the school’s honor code by admitting to premarital sex during the legal proceedings, sources told ESPN. He has begun informing staff and teammates of his intention to leave, sources said.
Retzlaff had been working out with the squad and participating in summer workouts and practices. The team is on break until July 7.
The BYU staff has been ramping up the preparation of the three backup quarterbacks — McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet and Bear Bachmeier — in anticipation that Retzlaff might not be available.
The woman alleged Retzlaff raped, strangled and bit her in November 2023. In a response to that lawsuit filed Friday, a lawyer representing Retzlaff denied those allegations but said Retzlaff had consensual sex with the woman.
The response indicated Retzlaff and the woman traded lighthearted text messages for months after the encounter and characterized the lawsuit as an extortion attempt based on the idea that Retzlaff developed into an NFL prospect roughly a year later.
The lawsuit described the encounter much differently.
Both the complaint and the response agree that Retzlaff and the woman connected through social media, which led to her visiting Retzlaff’s apartment to play video games on or around Nov. 22, 2023. The woman arrived with a friend, and friends and teammates of Retzlaff also were present.
Later that evening, the woman’s friend left, after which Retzlaff and the woman started watching a movie and began to kiss, the lawsuit states. While “Retzlaff began escalating the situation,” the suit says, “Jane Doe A.G. tried to de-escalate the situation and attempted to slow things down, trying to pull away, and saying ‘wait.’ She did not want to do anything sexual with him.”
The lawsuit says the woman told Retzlaff “no” and “wait, stop,” but he continued to force himself on her. After she tried to get up out of the bed, the lawsuit alleges, in graphic detail, that Retzlaff put his hands around her neck and proceeded to rape her.
A few days later, the woman visited a hospital, where a rape kit was performed and pictures of her injuries were taken. The lawsuit says she was connected with Provo, Utah, police but did not initially share Retzlaff’s name.
No criminal charges have been filed against Retzlaff.
After the lawsuit was filed, BYU issued a statement, saying: “The university takes any allegation very seriously, following all processes and guidelines mandated by Title IX. Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment.”
Retzlaff is not the first high-profile BYU athlete who faced a lengthy suspension for an honor code violation related to premarital sex. In 2011, basketball player Brandon Davies was dismissed from the team — which at the time was 27-2 and ranked No. 3 in the country — and suspended from school. He was reinstated that fall. In 1999, running back Reno Mahe was suspended from school and forced to leave the football team. He transferred to a junior college and later reenrolled at BYU.
Retzlaff, who has graduated from BYU, is expected to enter his name in the transfer portal in the coming days. He started 13 games for the Cougars in 2024, his first year as the starter, leading the team to an 11-2 record. He passed for 2,947 yards and 20 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.
Texas State has officially joined the Pac-12, the conference announced Monday, becoming the league’s ninth member ahead of its relaunch in 2026.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Texas State as a foundational member of the new Pac-12,” commissioner Teresa Gould said in a statement. “It is a new day in college sports and the most opportune time to launch a new league that is positioned to succeed in today’s landscape with student-athletes in mind.”
Texas State’s board of regents voted to authorize a $5 million buyout to the Sun Belt Conference early Monday. The Bobcats will remain in the Sun Belt through the 2025-26 season before joining the Pac-12 in all sports for the 2026-27 school year.
The Pac-12 needed to reach eight football-playing schools to meet the NCAA minimum for an FBS conference prior to the 2026 season.
Texas State president Kelly Damphousse called the move “a historic moment” for the university.
“Joining the Pac-12 is more than an athletic move — it is a declaration of our rising national profile, our commitment to excellence, and our readiness to compete and collaborate with some of the most respected institutions in the country,” Damphousse said.
Athletic director Don Coryell echoed that sentiment, calling the opportunity “a new era” for Texas State, which has been in the Sun Belt since 2013 after making its FBS debut with one season in the WAC in 2012.
“This historic moment belongs to our coaches, staff, student-athletes, fans, alumni and students,” Coryell said. “As the Pac-12’s flagship school in Texas, we proudly embrace the opportunity and responsibility that comes with it.”
The long-awaited announcement comes on the heels of the Pac-12’s announcement last week that it had finalized a five-year agreement with CBS for a portion of the conference’s football and men’s basketball media rights, including both sports’ championship game. Additional media partners are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Texas State is located in San Marcos, which is only about 35 miles south of the University of Texas in Austin. Texas State has more than 40,000 students, with one of the 25 largest undergraduate enrollments among public universities in the U.S.
Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.
Alabama’s 2026 recruiting class landed another significant late-June recruiting boost Saturday when four-star defender Xavier Griffin, ESPN’s No. 3 outside linebacker, announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide over Florida State, Ohio State and Texas.
Griffin, a versatile, 6-foot-4, 205-pound prospect from Gainesville, Georgia, is the No. 30 overall recruit in the 2026 ESPN 300. A former longtime USC commit, Griffin took official visits with each of his finalists in June. He now stands as the top-ranked prospect among 14 commits in Alabama’s incoming class, joining days after the program secured top 300 pledges from running back Ezavier Crowell (No. 31 overall) and tight end Mack Sutter (No. 138) on Thursday night.
Griffin told ESPN that the Crimson Tide’s pedigree and vision laid out by Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer and outside linebackers coach Christian Robinson were driving factors in his decision.
“Growing up, just seeing them, all the draft picks and stuff that they’ve had — all the guys they’ve put in the league — it speaks for itself,” Griffin said. “They have history and they’re really clear about what they’re trying to build with this new staff.”
A physical defender capable of dropping into coverage, Griffin has cemented his status as one the nation’s top linebackers at Gainesville (Georgia) High School, where he’s recorded 97 total tackles and 21 sacks across his sophomore and junior seasons.
He initially committed to USC last July and remained one of the Trojans’ top prospects over next 10 months before Griffin pulled his pledge from the program on May 14. Sources told ESPN at the time that Griffin’s decommitment stemmed from his intention to schedule official visits with programs this spring, bucking against USC’s policy against committed players taking official trips to other campuses.
Upon reopening his recruitment, Griffin locked in official visits with Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State and Texas for this month, closing with a trip to the Crimson Tide from June 20-22. Despite his lengthy USC pledge, Griffin told ESPN that no program recruited him more actively than Alabama across the past two years, led by Robinson, the program’s second-year assistant.
“He’s been one of the most consistent with me throughout my whole process,” Griffin said. “He’s just a really, really good guy.”
The highest-ranked of seven ESPN 300 pledges bound for Alabama in 2026, Griffin now leads an increasingly talented Crimson Tide defensive class forming in the current cycle.
Alongside Griffin, Alabama holds commitments from top-10 cornerbacks Jorden Edmonds (No. 38 overall) and Zyan Gibson (No. 65) in 2026. Defensive end Jamarion Matthews, Griffin’s teammate at Gainesville High School and ESPN’s No. 92 overall recruit, has been pledged to the Crimson Tide since February, and Alabama’s latest defensive class could get even deeper over the next month as priority targets including top-60 prospects Jireh Edwards, Anthony Jones and Nolan Wilson approach the final stages of their recruiting processes.