UFC fighter Miesha Tate rejects transgender athletes being in women's sports 'in any form'

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate opened up about her thoughts on men, or “transgender people,” competing against women in their sports.

The veteran fighter had a near-five-year hiatus between 2016 and 2021 before returning to the octagon for a more steady schedule, averaging one fight per year since.

In a recent interview, Tate was asked about her opinion on whether or not women should be open to fighting transgender athletes.

‘I just don’t know if there’s enough evidence, and some people will feel comfortable with the evidence. I don’t.’

“I still think that there is not enough conclusive evidence to prove that it is safe for transgender people to compete against biological women,” Tate told Esports Insider. “I just don’t know if there’s enough evidence, and some people will feel comfortable with the evidence. I don’t.”

On top of citing that women have to deal with menstruation and hormones when it comes to weight cutting and training, Tate said she did not think competition between men and women in MMA “can be 100% equal.”

Tate then told the outlet flat out, “I don’t support it.”

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Miesha Tate on the scale before UFC Fight Night on May 2, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa. Photo by Randy Thomas/Getty Images

The athlete continued and affirmed that not only does she find the idea unfair, but that sports do not need to be “inclusive.”

“I do not support men, in any form, competing in female sports. I just don’t think that it’s fair. I don’t think that it’s right. And sports are not inclusive. By their nature. By the nature of sport, it’s a non-inclusive thing to do,” she told Esports Insider.

Tate added, “So if you’re not good enough, you just don’t make it, and that’s a hard lesson to learn, but it’s a valuable one.”

Before the idea of men in women’s sports was a national issue, Tate, along with other female mixed martial arts fighters, stated her outright refusal to fight a male who claimed to be female in 2013.

The fighter in question was transgender athlete Fallon Fox, who at 36 years old began dominating women’s MMA, including during a 2013 bout against opponent Ericka Newsome. Fox stopped Newsome with a brutal knee to the face, which some claimed resulted in a skull fracture, while others, including Fox, rejected the notion and said he has only ever caused a broken orbital bone against a woman. A broken orbital is a more frequent injury in MMA.

Fox stopped fighting after just two years, as women increasingly spoke out against him. This included the only woman to defeat Fox, UFC veteran Ashlee Evans-Smith.

After the fight, Evans-Smith told MMA Interviews the transgender athlete “did have an advantage” and should not be fighting against women.

RELATED: ‘She’s never had to compete against a man’: Female athletes respond to Simone Biles’ pro-trans rant

Male-born MMA fighter Fallon Fox on November 13, 2013, in New York City. Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images

In her interview with Esports Insider, Tate called “biological males competing in female sports” potentially “unsafe,” especially in contact sports.

Tate noted, “Sports are not meant to include everybody. I mean, if you wanna do a sport that includes everybody, then try pickleball. That’s fine.”

The 38-year-old also said she was against the idea of every child deserving a trophy, stating that it teaches children they might be good at something they are not.

“If they think they’re equally as good at everything, because they always get a trophy for everything they do, they may not be able to distinguish the fact that, ‘Oh, I am better at this. Let me go that way.’ And then they play into their natural talents.”

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