A UFC Great on Female Physiology, Fighter Mindset, and Getting Punched in the Face

Miesha Tate on why women aren't small men, fighting in the UFC, lessons from getting punched in the face, and more.

UFC 250 is happening this Sunday on the White House lawn. Say what you will about the location—the event is a big deal in combat sports.

It’s arguably the best card the UFC has ever put forth. And for that reason, it’s fight week on the Two Percent Podcast.

In today’s episode, UFC great Miesha Tate joined us in the studio. She won some championship belts, hosted The Ultimate Fighter, and much more.

Miesha got her start by joining the all-boys wrestling team in high school. Never won, but fell in love with combat sports because of how hard they are, and eventually became a UFC bantamweight world champion. She walked me through the lessons of her career: what getting punched in the face teaches you about staying in the moment, fighter mindset tactics, and the fifth-round all-in bet on herself that won her the belt.

The most interesting part of the conversation is about female physiology. The UFC spent most of its history treating female fighters like smaller men. Miesha told me she trained that way for years—it’s just what women did. But by ignoring her biology, she saw performance dips and felt like hell.

When she finally started training and competing with her biology—adjusting intensity and nutrition around her cycle, accounting for the hormonal swings most coaches ignore—the difference led to her best fights ever.

This episode covers the life lessons inside elite fighting, the mental work of competing under extreme pressure, and a useful breakdown of female performance and hormonal training.

Watch the episode

Listen to the episode

• This link opens the episode in your podcast player of choice.

Show notes

• Miesha’s podcast, Built for Growth

• Miesha’s Instagram

• Watch all of Miesha’s fights on Paramount+ (I have no affiliation but will say this: UFC moving entirely to Paramount+ is the best thing to happen to streaming in years).

• A quick Miesha highlight reel (includes the Holly Holm choke out she mentioned)

• Watch UFC Freedom 250 this Sunday on Paramount+

My Biggest Takeaways From the Episode

As a reminder, this new section is for Members only. Below are 7 of the highest-impact, most actionable takeaways from the episode, including:

• Fighter mindset tactics for everyone: How to stay entirely present in high-stress environments when everything goes wrong.

• Two mental frameworks that won Miesha championship belts: They can help with exercise, work, parenting, and much more.

• The luteal phase advantage for women: How to handle the hidden 50 to 300 calorie daily deficit without crashing your energy or ruining recovery.

• Why women should map high-stakes efforts to ovulation: The precise window to leverage natural biological spikes for peak performance.