Female MMA fighter Miesha Tate (13-3) has signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC. Tate will join the newly-formed Women’s Bantamweight division, and is set to face Cat Zingano (7-0) at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale. The event takes place at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, on April. 13.

UFC officials recently announced the new bout and Tate’s management announced the signing via official press release.

Here is what Miesha Tate had to say:

“It is every mixed martial artist’s dream to compete in the UFC. It’s exciting knowing that the deal is officially in place, and I can begin working to book my first UFC opponent. I want to thank the UFC and Malki Kawa for helping to make this dream a reality,” Tate also said. “The ultimate goal for me is to win the UFC Women’s Bantamweight title. My training has never been stronger, and I feel I am putting myself in a position to become the best in the world. This contract only serves as validation that my hard work is paying off, but also as motivation to continue to push myself to new levels,”

Miesha Tate last fought at “Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman” in August 2012, where she scored a third round submission victory over Julie Kedzie. Prior to that she dropped a first round submission loss against Ronda Rousey at the “Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey” event in March 2012. A victory over Zingano would be a huge step towards earning a title shot against Ronda, so Miesha will no doubt be looking to score a big win on April 13th.

Cat Zingano is currently riding a seven fight winning streak, most recently defeating Raquel Pennington via second round submission at Invicta FC 3 in October 2012. Prior to that she scored a third round KO victory over Takayo Hashi at “Fight To Win: Outlaws” in May 2011, and a second round TKO win over Carina Damm in December 2010. Zingano now has the chance to extend her winning streak to eight with a big performance against Tate.

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Jay Cee – @JayCeeMMA

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