Tag: Amanda Nunes

Amanda Nunes to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame

Former champ Amanda Nunes was emotional at UFC 314 when the promotion announced she’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The consensus greatest female fighter of all time is headed to the UFC Hall of Fame.

[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] was cageside for UFC 314 on Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami, one day after she indicated she’s not done fighting yet. During the broadcast, the promotion announced Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) will be inducted this summer.

Nunes was emotional as the video package rolled and embraced UFC CEO Dana White, CBO Hunter Campbell, and ring announcer Bruce Buffer after its completion.

Nunes, 36, held both UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight gold. In addition to her three title fight winning victories, she defended gold on eight occasions. Her name is all over the UFC record books.

She debuted in 2013 and over the next decade beat the likes of Cris Cyborg, Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, Valentina Shevchenko and Julianna Peña among others. Her only two losses came to Peña and Cat Zingano.

In August 2023, Nunes retired as the women’s bantamweight champion to spend more time with her wife Nina Nunes and their daughter. However, it’s expected Nunes will return to competition to fight the winner of the UFC 315 co-main event between Peña and Kayla Harrison.

Amanda Nunes says she’s down for return from retirement for Julianna Peña-Kayla Harrison winner

Former two-division UFC women’s champion Amanda Nunes on Friday said she’s planning a return from retirement.

MIAMI – Former two-division UFC women’s champion [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] on Friday, in the form of an assertive and repeated head nod, said she’s planning a return from retirement.

Nunes was in a VIP seat at Kaseya Center for the UFC 314 ceremonial weigh-ins ahead of Saturday’s card in Miami. Conveniently for the South Florida resident and ex-champ, the prelude to the weigh-ins was a ticket on-sale news conference for UFC 316 later this year in New Jersey.

At that event, women’s bantamweight champion [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will take on challenger [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo and a two-time PFL $1 million season winner. Harris is nearly a 6-1 betting favorite in the fight, nearly unheard of for a challenger. It will be just her third fight in the UFC.

Peña beat Nunes to become champion in an upset in December 2021. She lost it in a rematch the next year. Then, after more than two years on the sidelines, and after Nunes retired in 2023, Nunes returned and beat Raquel Pennington to win the title back. That fight was a split decision that 96 percent of media members tracked by MMA Decisions scored for Pennington.

She has asked for a trilogy fight with Nunes – and Friday said Nunes’ return hinges on who wins between her and Harrison on Saturday.

But when UFC CEO Dana White was asked if he would be open to Nunes coming out of retirement later this year to fight the winner, he didn’t need to answer. Nunes was shown on camera quickly nodding her head that she would unretire to fight again.

White recently said he thinks Nunes retired too early.

Peña and Harrison fight June 7 in the UFC 316 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) co-main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Nunes retired in mid-2023 not long after she beat Irene Aldana in a bantamweight title fight. The 135-pound belt was filled, but her featherweight title remains in limbo. The UFC has held very few women’s fights at 145 pounds, and no plans for a new champion ever have been made.

Harrison fought at featherweight in the PFL and only first made the cut to bantamweight when she came to the UFC. If she beats Peña to win the title and Nunes comes out of retirement, she technically still would be featherweight champ – meaning a meeting between the two could kick off a lengthy two-division rivalry and reignite things at women’s featherweight for the UFC.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 316.

Julianna Peña changes tune on significance of Kayla Harrison fight vs. Amanda Nunes trilogy

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña has seemingly moved on from the Amanda Nunes rubber match.

UFC women’s bantamweight champion [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] has seemingly moved on from the [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] rubber match.

Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) long has campaigned for a third fight with Nunes after they split their first two championship appearances. However, with Nunes retired, Peña never got her opportunity to settle the score.

After dethroning Raquel Pennington to become champion at UFC 307, Peña dismissed [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and called out Nunes. However, Peña now has changed her tune and values a win over Harrison more than beating Nunes a second time.

“Kayla Harrison absolutely, because that’s fresh, that’s current,” Peña said on the “Overdogs Podcast.” “I don’t want to be living in the past, I don’t want to be stuck in the past. I want to be moving forward and keep things pushing over here, and that’s Kayla Harrison. That’s the one that I have my eyes on. That’s my target, that’s my goal, and it would mean the most to me. And I’m not unfamiliar to this territory. I was an 11-to-1 underdog with Amanda Nunes, so 7-to-1, that’s pretty good.”

Peña has opened up as a big underdog against Harrison. She theorizes why she’s constantly underestimated despite being a two-time UFC bantamweight champion.

“I think that one of the reasons why I’m a 7-to-1 underdog or why I always get overlooked or why people are always counting me out is because maybe I’m not the most technically sound,” Peña said. “Maybe I don’t throw the rock ’em, sock ’em punches perfectly and make everything perfect where I’m just so technical. Maybe I didn’t train martial arts or throw my very first punch until I was 19 years old and never was in wrestling as a young kid or judo as a young kid or was never in any martial arts until that time of throwing a punch for the first time at 19 years old and maybe don’t have the experience that these other girls have. But I’ve always had this one thing that has set me apart from everybody else, and that is my mindset and the mental toughness, the grit and the belief in myself that I can do anything, and I’ve never put a ceiling on myself as far as what I’m capable of doing.

“I have always believed that I can, and when you have that mental toughness of I don’t care what you do, I’m still going to get up, and I’m still going to keep coming at you a million miles an hour, it’s really hard to defeat someone like that. When you throw the kitchen sink at someone and they say, ‘Is that all you got?’ It’s mentally defeating for them and it’s like, ‘What do I got to do kill this person?’ And I’m just on the other side like Terminator. You’re going to have to literally cut my head off in order to get me to stop because I will not stop, and I think that attitude of never giving up or never stopping and always being relentless no matter what is kind of why I’ve had any amount of success that I’ve had, because I might get thrown on my head, but then you’re going to have to be careful about what I do after I get thrown on my head. I may get taken down, but then you’re going to have to be worrying about you getting elbowed in the face or punched because I’m not going to lay down, and I will not lay down.”

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Amanda Nunes planning UFC return? Dana White weighs in

Dana White thinks Amanda Nunes is hinting at UFC return.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag]’ crypticness has been firing on all cylinders recently, but [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] thinks it’s easy to decode.

During and after Saturday’s UFC 307, a card that featured two important women’s bantamweight title fights, Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) said both a little and a lot. First, it was some emojis on X. Then, a video of herself dancing with White’s handle tagged.

“She looks good,” White laughed at a Dana White’s Contender Series 75 post-fight news conference at the UFC Apex. “She looks great. It looks like she’s still in shape. You know where her head is at and I love that about her. There are a lot of things I love about her – and I love that about her. She’s keeping an eye on who wins the title next and I think she’s teasing that she might be interested in coming back.”

Nunes, 36, retired in June 2023 after a title win over Irene Aldana. She cited the desire to spend more time with her wife, former UFC fighter Nina Nunes, and their young daughter.

Since Nunes’ departure, there have been two title fights. The first was for the vacant strap at UFC 297 in January, during which Raquel Pennington claimed gold through a decision win over Mayra Bueno Silva.

Then, at Saturday’s UFC 307, Pennington lost the belt in a highly controversial split decision to Julianna Peña, a fighter who is 1-1 lifetime vs. Nunes.

Olympic gold medalist and former PFL champion Kayla Harrison also won a unanimous decision Saturday vs. Ketlen Vieira, establishing herself as potentially the next challenger for Peña.

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Video: Was Raquel Pennington robbed at UFC 307? Is Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison next?

Where does women’s bantamweight go after Saturday’s UFC 307 results? We discuss on “Spinning Back Clique.”

The landscape in the UFC women’s bantamweight division changed dramatically at UFC 307.

Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Salt Lake City hosted two key bouts at 135 pounds, with a championship fight between [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] and [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag], and what many expected to be a title eliminator in [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag]. In the end, Peña regained her UFC belt in disputed fashion, and Harrison kept her undefeated status in the promotion.

Did Peña rightfully win the UFC belt, or was Pennington robbed from a decision win? Is Harrison the clear next challenger, or could [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] be lured back into competition?

MMA Junkie’s Brian Garcia, Nolan King, Mike Bohn, and host Gorgeous George analyze the updated landscape at women’s bantamweight and discuss how things could shake out in the near future.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.

https://youtube.com/live/W8fowdpah74

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Julianna Peña calls for Amanda Nunes trilogy after UFC 307 title win: ‘Biggest fight in women’s MMA history’

Julianna Peña is hoping to welcome Amanda Nunes back from retirement following her win at Saturday’s UFC 307.

SALT LAKE CITY – [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] is determined to settle the score with [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag].

Despite Nunes being retired, Peña (12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is still holding out hope for a third fight between the two, especially after her latest showing in the octagon. Peña recaptured the UFC women’s bantamweight title Saturday by outpointing Raquel Pennington (16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC) in a split decision in the co-main event of UFC 307.

Peña hopes her championship win is enough to lure back Nunes from retirement, that way they can break their 1-1 tie and settle the score to their rivarly.

“When I saw Amanda retire that day, I was sitting cageside, and I was booing because I didn’t believe she was truly done,” Peña said at the UFC 307 post-fight interview. “You hear Dana White saying that he thinks she retired too early, and then you watch her and I think she’s just twiddling her thumbs and saying, ‘What am I doing? I’m bored. Who am I if I’m not fighting in the UFC?’

“There’s an air that I feel that she’s missing this sport and trying to find something to make her want to come back. … I truly do not believe she’s done. She retired too early. I think that she’s looking for something to do.”

Apart from Nunes expressing interest in potentially fighting again, Peña believes a third fight between the two would be the biggest fight in the history of women’s MMA.

“That, to me, is the biggest fight in women’s mixed martial arts history because we’re 1-1,” Peña said. “My fight against her was so dominant, I made her tap. Our second time, I ran out of time. I lost a decision handily – fine. No problem. But it would be nice to put it to bed once and for all and get that trilogy fight that she ran away from.”

There’s no guarantee Nunes would be interested in a return. But if that is the case, Peña is fine defending her title against Kayla Harrsion – who also fought at UFC 307 and beat Ketlen Vieira.

“If Amanda cowards away and doesn’t come back and fight me, then yes, you’re absolutely right: Kayla brings a lot of eyeballs and attention to the sport, and I love that.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Kayla Harrison: Julianna Peña ‘trying to avoid the inevitable’ by calling out Amanda Nunes

Kayla Harrison thinks Julianna Peña wants nothing to do with her.

[autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] believes [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] wants nothing to do with her.

Peña (12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) challenges bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington (16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC) in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 307 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Peña said she plans on dethroning Pennington then luring [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] out of retirement so they can complete their trilogy. Harrison (17-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who meets Ketlen Vieira (14-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) on the same night, expects to emerge as No. 1 contender with a win, but she doesn’t see Peña fighting her if she becomes champion.

“I think that Julianna, if she wins this fight against Raquel, is probably going to try and be inactive and push to have Amanda come back,” Harrison told CBS Sports. “She’s trying to avoid the inevitable. I wouldn’t want to fight me either, I get it. She’s calling out Amanda, she’s saying I’m on steroids.

“Julianna doesn’t have a win over someone in the top 15 right now. What has she been doing? She’s had two years off, coming off a loss. Now she’s going to fight for the title, she’s been blessed with this gift. Her time is coming, and more importantly my time is coming. I’ll be prepared for when it does, and I hope she is too.”

Peña pulled off a stunning upset win over Nunes at UFC 269 to claim the bantamweight title. Nunes was able to exact her revenge in their rematch, dominating a durable Peña to reclaim her title at UFC 277. Peña has not fought since.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Kayla Harrison: Amanda Nunes is great, ‘but don’t talk sh*t about my team’

Kayla Harrison still has Amanda Nunes in her sights.

[autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] still has [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] in her sights.

Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC), who hung up her gloves in June 2023, taunted Harrison for not mentioning her name after her debut win over Holly Holm at UFC 300 in April.

Harrison (17-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) explains that she didn’t target the former UFC dual-champion since she’s currently retired, and took issue with her departure from American Top Team – where they both used to train.

“I didn’t call Amanda out because Amanda’s retired, you know?” Harrison told Grind City Media. “I didn’t want to be that girl that’s like calling out old people, retired people, like people who are fat and happy sitting on the couch. I’m happy for her. I think also she struggles to not be in the limelight still.

“So I think when I had my moment, maybe she needed to come in, which is fine – and I have no beef with Amanda. Listen, the only problem I have with Amanda is that she talks sh*t about the greatest team in the world, (American Top Team). Personally, I think she’s great – but don’t talk sh*t about my team.”

Harrison meets Ketlen Vieira on Oct. 5 at UFC 307 from Salt Lake City – on the same night bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington defends her title against Julianna Peña. The two-time Olympic judo gold medalist and two-time PFL champion is currently focused on UFC gold, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to eventually fight Nunes.

“I would love for her to come back,” Harrison said. “That is literally the dream scenario for Kayla Harrison and her career. When she retired, I was like, ‘What are you doing? Not yet, wait!’ I’m glad she made the video, but now she’s going to be hearing from me. I have a couple of steps to take, and then she’s going to be hearing from me.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Ali Abdelaziz: Amanda Nunes retired because ‘biggest nightmare’ Kayla Harrison was coming to the UFC

Ali Abdelaziz thinks Amanda Nunes wanted no part of Kayla Harrison.

[autotag]Ali Abdelaziz[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] wanted no part of [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag].

Former teammates Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) and Harrison (17-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) were on a collision course, but being part of different promotions prevented them from being able to fight each other.

Nunes hung up her gloves as UFC dual-champion after retaining her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana in June 2023. Seven months later, two-time PFL lightweight champion Harrison signed with the UFC, and Abdelaziz thinks Nunes’ timing to retire was not coincidental.

“Amanda Nunes did everything,” Abdelaziz told Submission Radio. “She retired because Kayla was coming to the UFC, No. 1. She left ATT because Kayla was training there, right? She turned on the people who really helped her, like Dan Lambert and Conan (Silveira) and everybody who helped her because Kayla was getting more attention.

“She’d grown, and she knew they were going to have to fight, right? Amanda Nunes, her biggest nightmare in here, it was Kayla, and this is why she retired. She has a lot of pride in her. She retired because of Kayla Harrison, and now she said she wants to come back. I don’t think she ever comes back. But if she comes back, that’ll be amazing.”

Harrison submitted Holly Holm in her promotional debut at UFC 300 in April, and is eager to lure Nunes out of retirement. Abdelaziz theorizes that Nunes left American Top Team to form her own private gym because of Harrison.

“She trained a couple of times (together),” Abdelaziz said. “And whatever happened in the training room happened, and she never wants to train with Kayla again. She never wants to spar with Kayla again. She starts training by herself, away from the team every time Kayla comes to the gym. She left. And ATT really created who she is, and she turned on them because she thought, ‘Kayla’s coming.’ And you know what? She was coming. She was right. Kayla was coming.

“But she was the champion. She was jewel of the gym. Her insecurity and uncertain about beating Kayla allowed her to leave the gym. I don’t know, man. I don’t know. I think Amanda, she missed attention, and I think enough pressure from me and you talking about it, all the media talking about it, it might tickle her ego a little bit and for her to come back. But it doesn’t matter if she wants to come back. She can come back. She’s going to take this loss (to Harrison) and go back to retirement.”

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Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: UFC 300 review, Holloway wins BMF title, Makhachev & McGregor return, more

On “Spinning Back Clique,” our panel discusses the fallout of UFC 300 including, Holloway’s BMF win, McGregor’s return, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate everything around UFC 300:

  • The UFC reached its 300th pay-per-view event, a big milestone for the Las Vegas-based promotion. Where does this massive event rank in UFC history? On paper, it was a great card, and it delivered as promised.
  • [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] arguably made the biggest statement on Saturday night. The former UFC featherweight champion knocked out [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] in brutal fashion with one second remaining in the fight for the BMF title. So what’s next for Holloway? Should he stay at 155 pounds or go back to 145? Holloway has many options after this career-defining win.
  • On top of Holloway’s win, there were several other important lightweight bouts, as well as other lightweight bookings announced: [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] defeated former champion [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag], [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] stopped Jalin Turner and [autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag] picked apart Jim Miller. Additionally, the [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] title defense vs. [autotag]Dutin Poirier[/autotag] was made official, along with the return of [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], who faces lightweight standout [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] in a welterweight bout. Big news and results that heavily impact the UFC lightweight division.
  • In the main event of UFC 300, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] successfully defended his light heavyweight belt for the very first time, knocking out [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag]. It was a huge win for the Brazilian, who requested a heavyweight fight in a quick turnaround at UFC 301 in Brazil next month.
  • In the other undisputed title fight, [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] defended her UFC strawweight belt against fellow Chinese fighter [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag]. It was a solid showing by Weili, who logged the second title defense of her second championship reign.
  • [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] made a huge splash on Saturday night. In a dominant showing, she submitted former champion [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag], a victory that even caught the attention of former two-division UFC champion [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag]. What’s next for Harrison? Is she a future UFC champion? We unpack it all.
  • Lastly, several other big storylines went down at UFC 300. The panel quickly reviews [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]’s featherweight debut, [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]’s submission win, [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag]’ most recent first-round finish and more.

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