Will Amanda Nunes-Germaine de Randamie 2 go any different than their first fight?
The first fight between Nunes (18-4 MMA, 11-1 UFC) and de Randamie (9-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) was a lifetime ago by MMA standards. The duo fought in a bantamweight bout, the opening FS1 prelim at Fight for the Troops 3 in 2013. Nunes put on an impressive show in finishing de Randamie in the opening round, but the bout came and went and that was that.
It’s highly unlikely anyone at the time thought “What will probably happen here is that Nunes will go on a tear and beat one future Hall of Fame after another, win the bantamweight title, then knock out Cris Cyborg to win a UFC featherweight belt that doesn’t yet exist. Meanwhile, GDR will win the first featherweight title, abandon it, but somehow work her way back to a rematch and a shot at Nunes’ bantamweight belt.”
And yet, here we are.
De Randamie’s game has improved by leaps and bounds over the years. But Nunes has been on another level in earning nine straight wins, with devastating finishes of Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Cyborg, and Holly Holm in her last six. And for all the miles traveled by both since their last meeting, it’s on De Randamie to figure out a way to make sure this fight doesn’t play out like the first.
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