MELBOURNE, Australia – Miesha Tate didn’t head to New York intent on retiring at UFC 205, but it didn’t take long for her to decide her heart simply wasn’t in fighting any longer.

“I just knew after like the first exchange that I just didn’t want to do it anymore,” Tate told MMAjunkie. “So it was just kind of one of those things that just like stuck it out, but I knew I had a lot more to give, and I just didn’t give it.

“I don’t know. It’s just one of those things. It’s kind of odd, to be honest. But yeah, just lacking a little bit of the competitive edge to want to punch people in the face.”

Tate, who was already scheduled to be a guest fighter at this week’s UFC Fight Night 101 event in Australia prior to her abrupt retirement, faced rising contender Raquel Pennington at UFC 205, which took place earlier this month at Madison Square Garden.

It was Tate’s first fight since losing her title to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200, and the former champ hoped it would help propel her back to another crack at the belt. Unfortunately, once in the cage, Tate said she simply felt she didn’t have what it takes to compete at the sport’s highest level.

“I went in there, but I just couldn’t pull out of myself what I needed to really make the fight winnable,” Tate said.

Tate (18-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC) announced her retirement in the cage following the announcement of a decision loss to Pennington (9-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC). But two weeks later, she prefers to use a different term in discussing her decision.

“I prefer the term ‘transition’ – just transition into, like, more promoting events,” Tate said. “I’m still going to be involved. Actually, you might see more of me now.”

Tate is set to grapple with Jessica Eye in December at Chael Sonnen’s Submission Underground event, and “Cupcake” said she believes she’ll take similar opportunities in the future, as well.

“I love jiu-jitsu a lot, and I’m really excited to display it on it a different field,” Tate said. “It’s different when you’re fighting. You have to worry about people trying to get back up all the time, so it’s different. I think this is going to be a whole new avenue to express myself as an athlete, so I think it will be fun.”

Tate says she’s also hopeful to land a broadcasting gig, as well, but noting is set in stone just yet.

“It looks like something will come to fruition with FOX at some point, so we’ll just see how that all unfolds,” Tate said. “I think there’s going to be a lot of things that I have to look forward to. I’ve got to kind of sit down and talk to my management and see exactly what’s next.”

Tate, who also held the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title earlier in her career, is just 30 years old, fueling speculation that she might find a desire to return to fighting after taking some time off, but right now, she insists the thought hasn’t crossed her mind.

“You never know, but at this point it’s not something I’m thinking about,” Tate said.

Instead, for now, she’s enjoying life outside of the cage.

“Everybody has been so awesome and so supportive, and I definitely appreciate that in the transition of everything,” Tate said. “It’s been good so far. Life’s been good.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 101, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.