Miesha Tate, a.k.a. “Cupcake”, said recently that she won’t be signing autographs for fans expecting return mail anymore, because too many people are cashing in on her signature.
The UFC star explained on Twitter that it doesn’t make sense for her to keep sending out autographs for other people to make money off of.
“If anyone is going to sell the photos I sign it should be me, I’m the one fighting and signing. I’d rather give the money to charity. Why should anyone make a dime off what I worked my a** off to build and I get nothing? I sign for fans not sellers. Why should I be expected to do that for free it makes no sense, it’s still work for me. I don’t have respect for those who make money of other people’s hard work,” Miesha Tate wrote in response to a comment.
Will no longer be accepting return fan mail, too many trying to sell the signed photos, thanks for understanding!
— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) January 26, 2015
@MMASPORTSCARDS @MieshaTate Np its just disrespectful to make money of someone who works hard, those who sell are not called fans,
— SmileB4DEATH (@SmileB4DEATH_) January 27, 2015
Miesha Tate has risen to the top of the UFC game, making headlines alongside Ronda Rousey every time a big match comes up. But it took her a while to earn the respect of many fans, with some assuming that because she looks so feminine, her skills are sub-par. That’s where the nickname “Cupcake” comes in; it’s a reference to her love of baking and a smartass jab at those haters.
“It used to really, really irk me that people would look at me and say that I couldn’t fight and ‘oh, she’s gonna get handled by this other girl that looks more like a dude.’ And then I would go out there and win. You can’t judge a book by its cover, and that’s where the nickname ‘Cupcake’ came into play. I might look soft or feminine on the outside, but that has nothing to do with what I’m made up with on the inside,” Miesha Tate told NESN.
For Tate–and most of the women she calls peers–looks play a big role in how they are received in the ring. In 2013, she spoke out about how much attention Rousey gets within the UFC circles because she’s been in movies and is often found on magazine covers.
“Every single woman that fights MMA has done just as much work as Ronda has, we just haven’t gotten as much turnaround. Those women who came before her haven’t been on magazine covers, they weren’t plastered everywhere by the UFC. They didn’t get the same reward back. She got 10 times back what she was putting in and maybe everyone else was getting 1 to 1,” Miesha Tate said.