How UFC Champion Miesha Tate Overcame Rock Bottom with a Resilient Mindset

The James Altucher Show

James Altucher

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4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2025

⏱️ 77 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A Note from James:

Miesha Tate—at first, I’ve got to admit, I didn’t know much about UFC or MMA. But Miesha was the World Bantamweight Champion, and she fought Ronda Rousey—probably the most famous female fighter in the sport. I watched one of their fights, and honestly, I don’t know how I’d survive even a quarter of a second.

But the conversation we had wasn’t what I expected. Miesha opened up about the mindset behind championship success, the weight of public expectations, and how depression can still hit even after you’ve reached the top. We talked about how personal growth sometimes means burning down everything and rebuilding. This wasn’t just about fighting—it was about resilience, reinvention, and figuring out what matters when the title belt doesn’t solve your problems.

It was raw, honest, and eye-opening. I look forward to talking with her again.

Episode Description:

What happens when you reach the top of your field—and it still doesn’t fix what’s broken inside?

Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate shares the brutal truth about chasing success, surviving toxic relationships, and rebuilding her life from rock bottom. In this candid conversation, Miesha and James explore the psychology of high performance, the danger of tying self-worth to achievement, and how to know when it's time to walk away—even from something you love.

She tells stories from her early wrestling days to her UFC career, opens up about depression, and explains why learning to fail—and rebuilding—might be the most important skill of all.

What You’ll Learn:

Why reaching your ultimate goal might make you feel worse, not better
The hidden costs of high achievement and fame
How to identify toxic environments and take back control
Why learning to “rebuild your metaphorical home” is essential to resilience
How Miesha used mindset—not just physical training—to fight through adversity

Timestamped Chapters:

[00:00] The Broken Nose That Started It All
[03:00] High School Wrestling with the Boys
[06:00] Early Lessons in Grit and Gender Barriers
[08:00] From Wrestling to MMA: Embracing the Unknown
[11:00] Chasing the Win, Fearing the Loss
[13:00] Building the Metaphorical Home
[17:00] Blood, Grit, and the First Amateur Fight
[21:00] Getting Knocked Out and Coming Back
[27:00] The Problem with Thinking Winning Will Save You
[34:00] Fighting Ronda Rousey: Lessons in Obsession
[39:00] Training for the Unexpected
[45:00] When Success Doesn’t Fix Anything
[50:00] Rock Bottom and a 10-Day Drive to Nowhere
[55:00] Rebuilding from Scratch
[59:00] Miesha’s Life Today: Mindset, Family, and Homesteading

Additional Resources:

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Today on the James Altiger show.
0:03.5	There is beauty in being broken.
0:06.7	It's all about knowing that you can get through hard things.
0:11.5	And no matter how much life throws at you, that you can build your home back again.
0:16.1	I thought that the reason I was depressed and unhappy was that I didn't have enough money yet.
0:21.8	I didn't have enough success yet. I didn't have the belt. I had reached the pinnacle of the sport.
0:27.1	I really thought that if I just got there and I had that great payday and I had a beautiful
0:32.8	belt and everyone knew I was the champion, that I'd be, that would fix it, right?
0:37.9	That was everything that was working toward that.
0:39.7	That was the goal.
0:40.6	When you reached the goal, it's like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you did it.
0:44.7	But the truth was, it made all my problems way more complicated because it didn't fix anything.
0:52.2	Because I didn't fix me.
0:54.0	I was the problem. This I didn't fix me.
0:55.0	I was the problem.
1:01.2	This isn't your average business podcast, and he's not your average host.
1:23.6	This is the James Altager Show. Misha Tate. At first, to be honest, I don't know anything about ultimate fighting, the different world champions of fighting, but Misha Tate was the world Bantamweight champion.
1:30.3	She's also fought with Ronda Rousey, probably the most famous ultimate fighting female champion ever. And I have to say, when I was looking at the video of one of those fights, I don't really know how I would survive even like one quarter of a second because there's so much I play here.
1:42.3	But talking to Misha and her journey from beginnings to world champion,
1:48.2	as well as the hardships along the way, was a very enlightening discussion.
1:52.5	And people don't realize the hardships along the way, yes, it includes times when you lose,
1:57.7	times when you're not as motivated, but you have to look at the underlying issues. Why are you not motivated? Why psychological factors or other factors, other things
	...

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