Until this year, Miesha Tate seemed destined to spend her career in Ronda Rousey's shadow. She was the second-best fighter in her emerging sport, twice failing to stop Rousey's remarkable rise to stardom.
Everything changed in the past six months for the veteran fighter who finally got her break. And then a few more breaks put Tate into the incredible position of being a main-event fighter at UFC 200.
Tate's bantamweight title defense against Amanda Nunes has been promoted to the final fight in the UFC's landmark show Saturday. Just four months after Tate choked Holly Holm unconscious to claim the belt that Holm won from Rousey, Tate is under mixed martial arts' brightest spotlight.
And then she barely made weight Friday. Nothing comes easy for Tate, but she perseveres.
