Randy Couture and Miesha Tate have a few things in common, one is that they both held gold in the promotion and the other is that they are both retired from active competition.
“I think there’s something to be said for going out on your own terms – not waiting until some doctor or some promoter’s telling you, ‘You shouldn’t be doing this anymore,'” he said to MMA Junkie. “Like Miesha said, ‘This isn’t my time anymore,'” he said. “I think (she and Dan Henderson) kind of came to that place, that realization. You’ve got to be honest. You’ve got to look at where you’re at, why you’re doing this. It’s not just about going out there to cash another check, to get another check. It’s about wanting and aspiring to be the best in you weight class, the best in the sport. And if you feel like you’ve been there, done that and realistically maybe not going to be there again, then why? Why are you going to grind out another camp? Why are you going to risk your health, your joints, your neck, your whatever, to go and get another check? It’s a very, very personal thing.”
Tate announced her retirement after a unanimous decision loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205, while Couture retired after a TKO loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in 2006.