Miesha Tate earned the win in Saturday night’s Las Vegas fight against Sara McMann, but it came with a price: a severe injury that left her unable to see clearly for most of the match.
McMann broke Tate’s orbital bone in the first round, leaving the UFC fighter shaken. In a post-match interview, Miesha said she knew she had to “dig deep” after realizing how badly she was hurt.
“Pretty bad. I knew I had to hang on for dear life,” Tate said.
Tate took to Instagram after the fight to celebrate and acknowledged her fans and sponsors, giving a shoutout to Budweiser for giving her tickets to the Super Bowl tonight.
“I won!!! I am so excited to be heading to the Superbowl with a win!! Unfortunately I broke my orbital bone in 2 sports early on in the fight, I couldn’t see clearly out of my eye for rounds 2 & 3, I had to dig deep. Sara Mcmann is an amazing competitor, a tough fight for anyone!!” she wrote.
Miesha said during a press conference that she was in quite a bit of pain even though the injury didn’t look too bad to the naked eye, and called McMann “as tough as they come”.
“I have a really bad headache right now. She clipped me pretty good in the first round and actually broke my orbital bone in two spots, so I can’t look down and this bright light over here is not very comfortable, to say the least. She’s as tough as they come, and she can pack a punch, that’s for sure. I know it doesn’t look bad, but it feels pretty crappy,” she said.
While Miesha Tate’s injury will take four to six weeks to heal, she’s still got her sights set on a match against Ronda Rousey, her archrival within the UFC world. The women have risen to the top ranks of their sport, dominating headlines as they battle it out in the ring on their personal quests for glory.