Vieira beats Tate by decision in UFC main event

Ketlen Vieira earned the biggest win of her career Saturday, defeating former women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in the UFC Fight Night main event in Las Vegas.

Vieira cemented herself as the rightful winner with a big fifth round in which the Brazilian bloodied Tate with powerful punches.

Known for her grappling, Tate displayed more confidence in her stand-up game. But it wasn't enough to overcome Vieira's advantage on the feet. Vieira was the better striker, controlling the distance well and finding success with counter shots. Her punches seemed to have more of an impact than Tate's.

With the victory, Vieira bounced back from a decision loss to Yana Kunitskaya in February. The 30-year-old has alternated wins and losses in her past five bouts dating back to 2018.

Though Vieira hasn't put together a winning streak in almost four years, the No. 7-ranked bantamweight appears to be on the short list of potential future challengers for two-division champion Amanda Nunes. Considering Nunes' dominance and the lack of contenders in the division, one more win for Vieira could secure a title shot.

Tate is now 1-1 since returning to mixed martial arts this past summer. She defeated Marion Reneau by third-round TKO in the co-main event of a UFC Fight Night card. The former champ retired from the sport following a loss to Raquel Pennington in November 2016. She announced she was ending her retirement in March.