Miesha Tate becomes first athlete to win Celebrity Big Brother, takes home $250,000

Miesha Tate wins Celebrity Big Brother 3 [Photo via @ufc on Twitter]

On top of being a former UFC champion, Miesha Tate can now call herself a Celebrity Big Brother winner.

The MMA star beat out her closest ally, singer Todrick Hall, in a 7-1 vote to be crowned the season's winner, taking home a $250,000 cash prize. In doing so, she became the first athlete to win the hit reality show.

Congratulations @MieshaTate for winning Season 3 of Celebrity @CBSBigBrother - the first athlete to win the show! 🎉🏆 https://t.co/BRHusMxeGe

Celebrity Big Brother has seen its fair share of houseguests from professional sports in past seasons. The first installment of the show featured former UFC light heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell and retired NBA forward Metta World Peace. Season two had former NFL running back Ricky Williams, Olympian Lolo Jones, and WWE superstar Eva Marie.

Meanwhile, Tate is one of three athletes on the cast of Celebrity Big Brother 3. Former NBA star Lamar Odom and Olympic figure skater Mirai Nagasu were also part of the season.

Tate won the final Head of Household and decided to take Todrick Hall to the finale over Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Cynthia Bailey. Her decision proved to be the right one as she ended up winning the vote convincingly.

Miesha Tate weighs in on her major UFC move

Miesha Tate's Celebrity Big Brother journey may have concluded, but her fighting career is just about to come to a new chapter. The former UFC bantamweight champ is expected to drop down to flyweight (125 pounds) for a planned showdown against Lauren Murphy in May.

Tate, who competed at 135 pounds her entire career, explained why she decided to start fresh in a new division. Appearing as a guest on The MMA Hour, Tate revealed:

"I have made the commitment to go down to 125 [pounds]. A few reasons [why] — I think I automatically assumed 135 was always my weight class because that’s all there ever was. When I got into Strikeforce, it was only 135 and 145. When I got into the UFC, it was only 135, and by the time 125 came around, I was just so enveloped at 135 trying to win the title and then obviously the rivalry with Ronda [Rousey], and then I did win it against Holly [Holm]. But as the sport has evolved, I’ve just very rarely ever had a reach advantage. I’ve rarely had a height advantage."

Check out Miesha Tate's interview below: