Miesha “Cupcake” Tate capped off a two-year journey back to UFC title contention with a sensational win tonight at UFC 196: “McGregor vs Diaz” in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tate choked out Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm in round five to become the new UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion.

Tonight’s victory was a long time coming for former Strikeforce titleholder Tate, who was denied the UFC championship when she was defeated by “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey at UFC 168. Also on the UFC 196 card, Amanda “Lioness” Nunes earned a key win over Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko.

Tate (18-5-0) opted to stand and trade strikes with Holm (10-1-0) in a cautious opening round which saw the champion throw kicks early on. Tate countered with right hands, but Holm began to score with one-two combinations that left Tate’s cheek red and swollen. Holm looked to land her signature head kick late in the round, but Tate defended in time.

The second round was a completely different story and Tate dominated the action on the ground after taking Holm down. Holm struggled to defend as Tate battered her with hammerfists and elbows from half-guard before transitioning to a tight rear-naked choke. Holm refused to submit, and she managed to make it to the bell, but the round was clearly a 10-8 in Tate’s favour.

Holm kept the fight on the feet in rounds three and four, and she outstruck Tate by landing punching flurries and a variety of kicks. Tate shot in for a deep takedown attempt in the fourth round, but Holm sprawled out and punished the challenger with punches on the way up. She finished the round strong with a front kick to the face and another combination.

Sensing that she was down on the scorecards, Tate came out aggressively in round five. Both women landed kicks in the early goings, but Tate closed the distance and she scored a crucial takedown into back control. Holm stood up with Tate on her back, but Tate locked on another tight rear-naked choke. Holm tried to slam her way free, but doing so only tightened the choke. Holm was soon rendered unconscious and the fight was waved off at the 3:30 mark of round five.

Once on the cusp of being eliminated from UFC title contention for good, and less than one year removed from public disagreements with UFC brass, Tate has at last ascended to the top spot in the UFC’s 135-pound women’s division. The standout grappler has won five straight fights since falling to Rousey in the pair’s 2013 rematch and she remains one of the UFC’s biggest stars.

Winner: Miesha Tate by Technical Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:30 of round five. She improves to 18-5-0 and becomes the new UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion.

Earlier on the main card, Nunes (12-4-0) made her case for a future bantamweight title shot with a hard-fought victory over Shevchenko (13-2-0), who rallied late in the fight. Shevchenko was timid in round one and Nunes landed numerous kicks to her lead leg and body. She took Shevchenko down and landed elbows before the end of the round.

Nunes dominated the middle stanza on the mat and she opened a cut above Shevchenko’s left eye with elbows from top position. Shevchenko briefly stood up, but she was promptly taken back down and mounted by Nunes, who threatened with a neck crank and a rear-naked choke before the bell sounded to end the lopsided round.

Shevchenko’s best success came in round three and she rocked Nunes early on with a knee and an elbow. Shevchenko scored with ground and pound after taking Nunes down and she continued her offensive onslaught on the feet by landing some big knees. Nunes continued to press forward, but Shevchenko threw her on her face in the dying seconds.

Shevchenko’s late-fight rally was not enough to steal back the fight and Nunes’s dominant second round earned her a pair of 10-8 tallies from the judges. Final scores were 29-28 and 29-27 twice for Nunes, who requested a UFC women’s bantamweight title shot following the victory. She has won five of her six UFC bouts including three in a row.

Winner: Amanda Nunes by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 12-4-0.

(Photo Credit: UFC)