Tag: Amanda Nunes

Amanda Nunes doesn’t see herself fighting anytime soon: ‘My legs have nerve damage from over the years’

Amanda Nunes hasn’t had a change of heart since hanging up her gloves in June.

[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] hasn’t had a change of heart since hanging up her gloves in June.

Former dual-champion Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) retired after a lopsided decision win over Irene Aldana to retain her bantamweight title at UFC 289.

Considering that she’s still performing at an elite level, “The Lioness'” announcement came as a surprise to many. But Nunes says the milage on her body has become too much.

“I cannot kick as much anymore,” Nunes told Sports Illustrated. “My legs have nerve damage from over the years. So things are starting to get harder for me. My shoulders need rest, my knees. Even my teeth need work after getting hit in the mouth so many times. I don’t see myself back in the cage any time soon. I am looking forward to a break. My body needs this.”

Nunes was originally slated to face Julianna Peña in a trilogy bout at UFC 289, before an injury forced Peña out of the fight and she was replaced by Aldana. Regardless of who she fought that night, Nunes says her mind was already set.

“That week, the idea of retiring slowly crept up on me,” Nunes said. “Fight week is intense. I had so much to do. It was very tiring. Every interview, I was asked, ‘When are you going to retire?’ I definitely felt exhausted. I needed a break. The weight cut, everything. I never thought I would have the strength to retire, but I need this break. It was the right moment to go.”

While Nunes seems content as a retired fighter, she didn’t rule out an eventual return to competition.

“I need to take care of my body and give it a break,” Nunes said. “We’ll see what happens in the future.”

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Kayla Harrison sad she won’t get to fight Amanda Nunes: ‘My timing in MMA is pretty brutal’

Kayla Harrison admits she sometimes wishes she hadn’t gone for a second Olympic gold medal so a fight with Amanda Nunes could’ve been more realistic.

The retirement of former UFC double champion [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] means [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] won’t get one of her long-desired fights.

Nunes, who held the UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight titles, called it a career after defeating Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June. Harrison has always wanted to test herself against the consensus greatest female fighter of all time, but she’s lost out on that opportunity.

Harrison, the two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka and two-time PFL women’s lightweight champion, said her eagerness to fight Nunes, who once was her teammate at American Top Team, was purely rooted in competition.

“I mean, I’m happy for her if she’s happy,” Harrison told ESPN. “I have no animosity towards Amanda. I feel slightly troubled by some of the things that she said about the gym and about the coaches. That, to me, didn’t sit well with me. And I know, however she took the things I said about her, her interpretation of them was not what my intention was.

“My intention always when speaking about Amanda was, ‘Hey, you’re the greatest. I respect that so much. I put so much value on who you are, what you’ve accomplished, what you’ve done, that like, I want that. I want to become that.’ My intention was always from a place of respect but also realness. I’m not going to pretend like I don’t want to fight (her). … I don’t play like that. I’m not like Merab (Dvalishvili), God bless his soul. I’d fight my grandma if she was the greatest.”

With featherweight champion Cris Cyborg opting to re-sign with Bellator, Harrison lost out on another big fight for the time being –unless, of course, Bellator and the PFL merge as has been discussed. She wonders had she transitioned to MMA earlier, if that would have increased her chances of landing these mega fights.

“My timing in MMA is pretty brutal,” Harrison said. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘Did I really need a second gold medal? I should have just gone to MMA when I was 22.’ Then I could’ve just been this monster,” Harrison said. “If she’s happy, she’s satisfied, she’s accomplished everything she’s wanted to accomplish, I’m sad for me and I’m happy for her. That’s it.”

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Miesha Tate happy Amanda Nunes retired: ‘There was no way any of us were beating her’

Miesha Tate sees new life for her and the rest of the bantamweight division now that Amanda Nunes is retired.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag] sees new life for her and the rest of the bantamweight division now that [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] is retired.

Former dual champion Nunes hung up her gloves after retaining her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June. Nunes started her 135-pound title reign by running through Tate for a first-round submission at UFC 200.

Since then, “The Lioness” finished Ronda Rousey, Raquel Pennington, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm and Megan Anderson in title fights – and racked up numerous other wins, as well. But now that Nunes has retired and the bantamweight belt is vacant, Tate (19-9 MMA, 6-6 UFC) sees herself close to the title picture.

“There was no way any of us were beating her, so thank God,” Tate told MMA Junkie and other reporters Thursday on the UFC Hall of Fame red carpet. “Because now the division is wide open, and I believe I’m one fight away (from a title shot). I know that probably sounds wild. Some people are like, ‘Wait a minute.’

“But if you think about it, since my return, I had a really dominant finish win, and then I had a very close decision loss to a top-five girl in Ketlen Vieira. So although I haven’t been super active, I still think with a bang of a comeback at 135 against a top-quality opponent, at least my name could be dropped in the bucket. I’m not saying that I would be picked for sure, but I’d like to at least be talked about in being in contention.”

Tate is 1-1 at bantamweight since she came out of retirement. After losing a unanimous decision to Lauren Murphy in her flyweight debut in July 2022, she decided to move back up to 135 pounds. Tate was booked to face Mayra Bueno Silva in next Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 49 headliner, but a hand injury forced her out and she was replaced by Holm.

Tate currently is rehabbing her hand and is targeting a return in October. She sees two potential opponents that make sense for her next.

“There’s a couple of names that have come to my mind like Irene Aldana because she’s just hot off the press. She just fought for the title, so I feel like that would be a great fight for me,” Tate said. “I also think Yana Kunitskaya – we’re kind of in that similar boat right now, but it was a very close fight her last fight (vs. Karol Rosa), and she went up a weight. So I was still very impressed with her.”

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Julianna Peña: Amanda Nunes rematch was ‘a lot closer than people want to give me credit for’

The fact that Julianna Peña won’t get a trilogy with retired UFC champ Amanda Nunes isn’t sitting right with her.

[autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] doesn’t think the judges’ scorecards accurately reflected her rematch with [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag].

Peña (11-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who dethroned Nunes with an upset submission at UFC 269, failed to keep her belt in the rematch after she lost a unanimous decision at UFC 277. Peña was knocked down three times and taken down six times by Nunes, prompting one of the judges to score the fight 50-43 in favor of “The Lioness.”

Although the scorecards swayed heavily toward Nunes’ side, Peña never stopped fighting. Peña was eager to settle the score in a trilogy bout, but Nunes ended up retiring.

“I’ll always want to fight her if she decides to return, absolutely,” Peña told ESPN. “There’s fights that are on my bucket list of things that I want to get back, things that I want to do, and she’s definitely one of them. I definitely think she knows that; I know that. Maybe not the general public knows that because all they’re looking at is possibly highlights.

“What I would encourage fans to do is go back and watch that (second) fight and actually take into account, without the commentary or anything, just watch the fight. You’ll see that it was a lot closer than people want to give me credit for. They see the drops, they see me getting knocked down and yeah, it absolutely happened. But I let her take the time to go make those adjustments and revamp her entire style. I felt like it was kind of a snub for her to not let me have that same opportunity.”

Peña is the only fighter to beat Nunes in nearly 10 years. “The Venezuelan Vixen” got her rubber match against Nunes at UFC 289, but she was forced to withdraw due to a broken rib. Nunes faced Irene Aldana instead, and hung up her gloves after beating her.

“I think the biggest thing for me is we are 1-1,” Pena said. “I think I’m the only person on the face of the planet that is allowed or can say or call Amanda Nunes a coward, because we do have unfinished business and I definitely think she found the easy way out in retiring. Injuries happen in the sport. Of course, it’s my fault that I wasn’t able to compete at that time, but she also pulled out of our fight when we were supposed to fight the first time.

“She’s pulled out of many fights in the past. It doesn’t mean that you go retire because of it. It’s just a little frustrating, and I think that I was definitely showing my frustration there cageside, which of course that’s what I’m going to do when they’re sticking the camera in my face and asking me what are my thoughts after every single round. So, I got a little ahead of myself.”

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Maycee Barber: Julianna Peña heckling Amanda Nunes in retirement speech was ‘just cringey’

Maycee Barber wasn’t a fan of how Julianna Peña conducted herself during Amanda Nunes’ retirement speech at UFC 289.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – [autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag] wasn’t a fan of how [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] conducted herself during [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag]’ retirement speech.

Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) hung up her gloves after retaining her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana at UFC 289. In attendance was Peña, who was Nunes’ original opponent before withdrawing due to a rib injury.

While Nunes was making her farewell speech, Peña (11-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) was screaming at her and hurling boos from across the stands. Peña even said she wanted to storm the octagon, until her coach advised otherwise.

“The only thing I didn’t like was how much Julianna was talking crap,” Barber told MMA Junkie and other reporters Wednesday at UFC on ABC 5 media day. “That was the only thing that was like, that’s just cringey. But, that was probably the only thing that I thought about the retirement that I didn’t like, and I wish Amanda all the success in the world.”

Peña’s frustration stems from expecting to complete her trilogy with Nunes next. “The Venezuelan Vixen” scored a shocking submission upset of Nunes to claim the 135-pound title at UFC 269, but Nunes regained her belt with a dominant decision in their immediate rematch at UFC 277.

Barber thinks Peña should just be grateful that their series ended 1-1, implying that the rubber match wouldn’t have gone well for her.

“I think that was very stupid,” Barber said. “You never know what’s going on in someone’s life. And if she wanted to call it done, she called it done. Who’s to say you can’t retire? If Amanda hadn’t retired and she fought Julianna, I think that Julianna got out very easy on that, having the shot at keeping the belt.”

Barber returns to action Saturday at UFC on ABC 5 to face Amanda Ribas in the co-main event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. The bout airs live on ABC following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 5.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 20: Arman Tsarukyan, Larissa Pacheco climb

Arman Tsarukyan and Larissa Pacheco picked up big wins over the weekend, resulting in upward movement in this week’s update.

Two impressive fighters in their respective divisions picked up big wins last weekend and made moves up the ladder.

First, at 2023 PFL 5 on Friday, 2022 season winner [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] picked up another first-round finish by making quick work of Amber Leibrock. The quick finish earned her six points and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs as she looks to win back-to-back championships. As a result, she climbs to the No. 2 spot in the women’s featherweight division.

Saturday at UFC on ESPN 46, [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] continued his winning ways by finishing Joaquim Silva in the third round. The result marked two in a row, resulting in a bump from the honorable mention to claiming No. 13 in the lightweight rankings.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

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Cris Cyborg not surprised by Amanda Nunes retirement, just disappointed rematch won’t happen

With Amanda Nunes now retired, Cris Cyborg won’t get her long-desired rematch – and that bums her out.

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.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 13: Amanda Nunes’ retirement resets women’s standings

Amanda Nunes defended her bantamweight title at UFC 289 and then retired, causing a reset in multiple women’s divisions.

[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] successfully defended her UFC women’s bantamweight title at UFC 289.

However, immediately after her dominant unanimous decision victory over Irene Aldana, Nunes announced her retirement from MMA. Already having a firm grasp as the No. 1 bantamweight, featherweight, and pound-for-pound, her exit causes a massive shuffle.

Aldana entered the event at No. 7 in the women’s bantamweight division, but despite the loss, Nunes’ exit, and the removal of Germaine de Randamie, settles in at the No .5 spot in this week’s update.

The co-main event of the pay-per-view in Vancouver, British Columbia, saw No. 2 Charles Oliveira defeat No. 5 Beneil Dariush. There’s nowhere for Oliveira to move in the lightweight rankings given that Islam Makhachev is sitting at No. 1 with the UFC title. Considering Dariush’s long winning streak, and the names behind him, keeps his position.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

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Video: Was this the right time for Amanda Nunes to retire?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” reacts to Amanda Nunes’ decision to retire while UFC champion in two divisions.

It’s not often a fighter walks away on top, but that’s exactly what [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] has done.

Entering UFC 289‘s main event against Irene Aldana, Nunes held both the UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight titles. After successfully defending her 135-pound title for the sixth time in a dominant unanimous decision at Rogers Center, “The Lioness” decided it was time to call it a career.

While it’s time to celebrate the the woman who is widely regarded as the greatest female fighter in history, her exit leaves many questions to be answered.

Is it the right time for the 35-year-old Brazilian to walk away, and what will the fallout be for the women’s 135- and 145-pound divisions?

Unlike many MMA retirements, will Nunes’ stick? Are we OK with not getting a third fight against Julianna Pena?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Dan Tom, and Brian “Goze” Garcia discuss Nunes’ retirement with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

Julianna Peña ‘wanted to storm the cage’ as Amanda Nunes announced retirement at UFC 289

A frustrated Julianna Peña had to restrain herself while watching Amanda Nunes retire at UFC 289.

[autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] had to restrain herself while watching [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] retire at UFC 289.

Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) called it a career after retaining her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana in this past Saturday’s headliner at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Peña (11-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who was Nunes’ original opponent before withdrawing due to a rib injury, was in attendance for the fight. But instead of facing off with Nunes to set up their trilogy bout, she watched Nunes announce her retirement.

Peña was disappointed but not too surprised with how things unfolded.

“First off, you need to call me ‘Mystic Peña,’ because I have special powers,” Peña said on “The MMA Hour.” “I told you back then in April that she was one foot out the door, and she was going to retire. Low and behold, ‘Mystic Peña’ strikes again.”

Peña admits she had to fight off the urge to spoil Nunes’ retirement announcement. With the bantamweight title now vacant, Peña is ready to reclaim her title – even if it won’t be against Nunes.

“There was a part of me that really wanted to storm the cage,” Peña said. “I had so many people that were like, ‘Yes, we’ll do it,. We’ll throw you over the gate.’ But then my coach Wayne was like, ‘Don’t do it. Be classy and don’t do it.’ And so I let her have my moment. But it was really difficult for me, because there were so many times where my urge was to go. Like, ‘Now’s the time, go, go, go. Now’s the time.’

“But, you know, at the end of the day, she’s retired, she’s off into the sunset. She’s dead to me at this point. We’ve just got to keep the division moving. Now we’re stepping into Day 1 of the ‘Peña Power’ era. I’m the synthetic champ. I’ve always been champ in my heart and in my head all the time. I wake up every day being like, ‘Good morning, champ. You look good.’ So it’s just a matter of time before the belt’s around my waist again.”

Peña dethroned Nunes with a shocking submission upset at UFC 269. She lost her title by lopsided decision when the pair rematched at UFC 277.

Even thought their series is tied 1-1 and now will always remain that way, the score is already settled for Peña.

“As far as I’m concerned, I still have a one-up on her,” Peña said. “She didn’t finish me. I was literally coming at her the entire time. I ran out of time. Brass tacks, when it all comes down to things when she was supposed to be the greatest of all time, she tapped.

“She was asking for help to get out of there. A finish is better than a scorecard. She couldn’t finish me. I’m not gonna have a thorn on my side because as far as I’m concerned, I still have a win over her. If we’re in the streets, she’s dead. She already died.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.