From the ring to the Big Brother house! While Miesha Tate made headlines when it was announced that she would join the third season of Celebrity Big Brother, she first made a name for herself in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) circuit.
The 35-year-old former UFC champ’s casting was previously announced on January 26, alongside the likes of Lamar Odom, Shanna Moakler, Cynthia Bailey, Teddi Mellencamp, Todrick Hall and more.
“I think the hardest part of this competition is going to be the social strategy when it comes to building alliances and having to be sneaky, and be dishonest with people at times, even just not telling them the whole truth,” the Washington native exclusively told Us Weekly in January 2022 about her CBB strategy. “I’m a very forward person. I usually speak exactly what’s on my mind. I’m not sure how or what alliance I’m gonna fit into. And I usually don’t like to play those kinds of games anyways, but here we are, Celebrity Big Brother. That’s what it’s about.”
While the Central Washington University alum admitted she is a newcomer to the reality TV game, she is ready to do what it takes to bring home a win.
“For the bigger picture, I might throw a competition. I realize that you need to be a team player until it’s time to play individually,” she explained. “So, if that means I get to accomplish the ultimate goal, which is to win Big Brother, sometimes I might have to sacrifice one.”
In terms of finding a trustworthy teammate or ally, Tate is hoping to partner with “somebody who has the opposite strengths of me,” such as being a social butterfly who can “float between alliances [and] stay 90 percent honest.”
“I think I would rather take my closest ally knowing I might lose. I always like a really big challenge,” the mother of two — she shares daughter Amaia, 3, and son Daxton, 19 months, with fellow MMA fighter Johnny Nuñez — speculated to Us. “And at the end of the day, Celebrity Big Brother is meant to be enjoyed. It’s meant to be a game. But if I’m put in that position, I’ve never been there before, so I truthfully can’t say exactly what I would do.”
Before her stint in the BB house, Tate was a renowned UFC champion before announcing her retirement in November 2016. However, amid the coronavirus public health crisis, she decided to return to the ring once more.
“The moment that I knew I really wanted to come back, it was about the time I had my son [in June],” Tate revealed on a March 2021 appearance on the “Victory Loves Company” podcast. “After I had my baby, the pandemic brought everything home for me, what’s important. I was stuck in Singapore, even though it’s not a bad place to be stuck. But for most people who grew up in America, you could take a road trip. I felt so stuck in Singapore. We couldn’t do that, We didn’t have a car. We were stuck in a little tiny condo with no yard. I know this sounds like ‘poor you,’ but the truth is it wasn’t the most ideal situation. It just made me think of all the things I really appreciate. And one of those things is being a competitor.”
She continued at the time: “Being cooped up and not being able to train, my mom couldn’t come for the birth of my son, the borders were closed. I came back to America and said, ‘I want to fight again.’ Time is valuable and support systems are available and that’s something I didn’t have at the beginning of my career, or really throughout my career. I’m excited now to have good coaches, a good support system.”
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