With [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] now retired, [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] won’t get her long-desired rematch. And that bums her out.
Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) announced her retirement after retaining her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana this past Saturday in the UFC 289 main event. She retired as the UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion.
Although Nunes is still very much in her prime, her former foe and current Bellator featheweight champ Cyborg wasn’t taken back by the news.
“I’m not surprised,” Cyborg said on her YouTube channel. “I think she’s been fighting for a long time. I know she has a wife, a kid, and one kid on the way. So, she’s just been fighting for a long time and has a new chapter in her life and she’s very excited. I’m not surprised.”
Nunes knocked out Cyborg in the first round to capture the featherweight title at UFC 232 in 2018. The loss marked Cyborg’s first in more than 13 years and snapped her 21-fight unbeaten streak.
Cyborg was eager to run things back but ended up parting ways with the UFC in 2019 to sign with Bellator, which put a major roadblock in making a rematch happen.
“I don’t want to say upset, but the right word I think is disappointed,” Cyborg said of Nunes retiring. “I had one goal in my heart to make the rematch before I retire or she retires. I think a lot of fans were asking for this too. Even Julianna Peña, you see a lot of people say, ‘Oh you left before the third fight.’ But after we fought, I was 14 years undefeated. I think the rematch was gonna be great, but now I don’t know.”
Since losing to Nunes, Cyborg has defeated Felicia Spencer in the UFC, then dethroned Julia Budd to become Bellator’s featherweight champion. She has since defended her belt four times and is expected to make her next title defense against former UFC title challenger Cat Zingano, who holds a win over Nunes.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.