Miesha Tate announces retirement following loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205

Women's mixed martial arts pioneer Miesha Tate has officially announced her retirement from competition.

Tate shocked fans when she took to the mic to reveal she was calling it a career following her unanimous decision loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205.

"I'm announcing my retirement, you guys," said Tate. "I love y'all so much. I've been doing this for over a decade. Thank you so much for being here. I love this sport forever. But it's not my time anymore. It's the future's time.

"It's because of the result. I had a lot more to give but I couldn't pull it out of myself. It's been a long time, taken a lot of punishment. I still love this sport. I love you guys so much, thank you, but this is it for me."

During the contest, Pennington dominated Tate on the feet while threatening with submission from pillar to post. In the end, the judges' scores read 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

For Tate, a former UFC champion, this marked her second straight loss after suffering a violent first round TKO to current champ Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 in July. This setback also snapped her four-fight win streak.

Known for her intense rivalry with former champion Ronda Rousey, Tate rose to prominence during her time under the Strikeforce banner where fans saw her pick up notable wins over Zoila Frausto Gurgel and Hitomi Akano. Her run would culminate in earning the promotion's bantamweight title with a fourth round submission over Marloes Coenen.

While Tate later dropped her Strikeforce belt to Rousey in her next fight, the build up to the contest played one of the biggest factors in UFC President Dana White making the decision to add the women's 135-pound division to the UFC.

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Tate would immediately become a factor in the UFC, picking up wins over Liz Carmouche, Sara McMann and Jessica Eye while suffering a loss to Rousey in their rematch at JFC 168. The woman known as 'Cupcake' eventually earned her UFC title with a thrilling come from behind fifth round submission over former champ Holly Holm at UFC 196 in March. However, she once again failed to defend her belt successfully after being finished by Nunes in her next fight.

Tate retires with a 5-4 record inside the Octagon and an 18-7 overall record as a pro.