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Miesha Tate, a former UFC and Strikeforce bantamweight champion who is one of the biggest stars in women's MMA history, has accepted a comeback fight nearly five years since she last competed. Tate (18-7) told ESPN on Wednesday she will return on July 17 in a 135-pound bout against bantamweight veteran Marion Reneau (9-7-1). Although the site or event has yet to be announced, the fight is expected to take place on a UFC Fight Night card. 

Adding a unique element to the bout is that on the same night Tate, 34, resumes her career, the 43-year-old Reneau will head off into retirement, calling this the final bout of her 11-year MMA career and the last of her current UFC contract. 

"My heart is full of passion, the fire has been lit!" Tate told ESPN via text message. "The sport has been calling for me, it's time I answer."

Although the news of Tate's return feels abrupt, the native of Tacoma, Washington, did post a cryptic Instagram message in December showing her warming up for what she called "my first practice back" at her longtime gym, Xtreme Couture MMA in Las Vegas. Tate added the hashtag of #imback, suggesting a possible return to the sport. 

Best known for her intense two-fight rivalry with Ronda Rousey, which took place across the Strikeforce and UFC promotions and included a stint as "The Ultimate Fighter" coaches in 2013, Tate retired from the sport following her November 2016 decision loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205. 

Tate stayed close to the sport after the conclusion of her career by serving as an ambassador and executive for the Singapore-based ONE Championship promotion. She also gave birth to two children during her time away from competing. 

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After turning pro in a one-night tournament under the BodogFIGHT banner in 2007, Tate became one of the sport's first female stars by upsetting Marloes Coenen in 2011 via submission to capture the Strikeforce bantamweight title. Although she would lose in her first title defense to Rousey the following year late in the first round, the excitement of the fight helped spark the UFC's interest in creating the female divisions. 

Although Tate began her UFC run with consecutive losses to Cat Zingano and against Rousey in their rematch, she went on to run off a five-fight winning streak immediately after, which concluded with choking out Holly Holm at UFC 196 in 2016 to win the UFC's 135-pound title. The fifth-round finish remains one of the most dramatic results in the promotion's history. 

Reneau, who made her UFC debut in 2015, is currently riding a four-fight losing streak following decision defeats to Zingano, Yana Kunitskaya, Pennington and Macy Chiasson.

"I knew that my last fight would be when I was 43 or 44 years old," Reneau told ESPN. "Granted, I feel amazing. I feel the best I've ever felt. But there just comes a time when I feel it's time to move on and in my mind, I always knew I would finish out my contract and that was going to be it.

"I can't think of a better situation, just because I like to say I grew up watching Miesha. She was one of my first idols when I started fighting. I used to dream about fighting her, and now it's coming to pass in what happens to be my last hoorah."

As a fighter returning from retirement, Tate is technically subject to a six-month USADA testing window before resuming competition under the UFC's anti-doping policy. The UFC does have the power to waive this requirement, however, which it infamously did for Brock Lesnar upon his 2016 return at UFC 200. The former heavyweight champion would then test positive for multiple illegal substances, however. 

Tate also competed at UFC 200, which was the night she lost her bantamweight title via first-round submission to Amanda Nunes. Tate noted in an interview with SiriusXM on Wednesday that she was not in a good place mentally toward the end of her run with UFC, but she has since moved back to the United States from Thailand and feels ready to attack the new challenges ahead.