Tag: Amanda Nunes

Din Thomas reflects on memorable Amanda Nunes gameplan heading into Ronda Rousey fight

Din Thomas has devised many game plans for some of the best fighters in MMA, but one in particular stands out.

[autotag]Din Thomas[/autotag] has devised many gameplans for some of the best fighters in MMA, but one moment in particular stands out.

Former fighter-turned-coach Thomas helped [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] ahead of her first UFC bantamweight title defense against [autotag]Ronda Rousey[/autotag] in 2016.

Nunes (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC) was the betting underdog going into the fight, which baffled Thomas, considering the amount of holes he saw in Rousey’s striking game. It didn’t take long for Nunes to fully capitalize on them, as she unleashed a barrage of punches to finish Rousey in just 48 seconds at UFC 207. It was a proud moment for Thomas, who saw the shortcomings in Rousey’s game that so many others had not prior to her stunning loss to Holly Holm one year earlier.

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“I think the first one that I really invested so much into, that I put into, was Amanda and Ronda Rousey,” Thomas told MMA Junkie Radio. “And this was when I was like, ‘This is a fool’s bet.’ Because Amanda was the underdog in that fight, I think. After studying Ronda, I realized that she was ‘smoke and mirrors,’ is what I could say, and she wasn’t as good as everybody thought she was. She did some things better than everybody else, but she wasn’t as good as everybody thought she was.

“So I put a lot of effort into that, and I watched her, and I saw that she would throw punches at the same time with two different hands, and she was really awkward in certain spots. So I was like, ‘Wow, this is gonna be a really easy fight for Amanda.’ And it turned out to be a really easy fight for Amanda.”

Thomas recently announced his departure from American Top Team but will still work with the likes of former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, flyweight Gillian Robertson and heavyweight Greg Hardy as he branches out on his own.

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Din Thomas talks to MMA Junkie about his proudest fight breakdown

Din Thomas has broken down various fights. Listen as he tells which fight breakdown was his proudest moment.

Din Thomas has broken down various fights. Listen as he tells which fight breakdown was his proudest moment.

Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer featherweight title fight rescheduled for June 6

Amanda Nunes will put her featherweight title on the line for the first time next month.

UFC dual champion [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] will put her featherweight title on the line against [autotag]Felicia Spencer[/autotag] next month.

Originally scheduled to square off this Saturday at UFC 249, Nunes, who also holds the bantamweight title, opted not to compete on the card, saying that she wanted more time to properly train during the coronavirus pandemic. Now Nunes (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC) is set to face Spencer (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on June 6, with the location yet to be determined.

MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup after an initial report from ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.

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Nunes is coming off back-to-back title defenses at 135 pounds against former champions Holly Holm and most recently Germaine de Randamie last December. She will defend her featherweight title for the first time since dethroning Cris Cyborg at UFC 232 in December 2018.

Spencer, a former Invicta FC featherweight champ, emerged as No. 1 contender after she stopped Zarah Fairn in the first round in February.

The current June 6 lineup includes:

  • Champ Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer – for women’s featherweight title
  • Raphael Assuncao vs. Cody Garbrandt

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UFC champ Amanda Nunes on May 9 fight vs. Felicia Spencer: ‘Actually, I’m not fighting’

The coronavirus pandemic and the limits on training are enough for Amanda Nunes to hold off on defending her title vs. Felicia Spencer.

Whereas the majority of UFC fighters seem willing and ready to compete during the global coronavirus pandemic, [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] apparently isn’t one of them.

Nunes, the UFC women’s featherweight and bantamweight champion, is slated to defend her 145-pound title against [autotag]Felicia Spencer[/autotag] on May 9 at a location to be determined, according to UFC president Dana White.

Not so fast, says Nunes.

“Actually, I’m not fighting May 9,” Nunes told CBS Sports on Monday. “I’m going to fight, (but) I don’t know yet. I don’t think this is the right time for me right now to fight. Let this coronavirus pass a little bit so I can at least have a full camp. We can maybe see around June, (but) let’s see what is going to happen. But I’m not fighting (May 9).”

As of this writing, the UFC has yet to respond to MMA Junkie’s request for comment.

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The UFC was the final major sports organization to halt operations with the cancellation of UFC 249 and all future events indefinitely earlier this month. However, it was only a matter of days before White was back to insisting that an event featuring three title fights would happen May 9 at an unknown location.

Nunes (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC) and Spencer (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) were booked to co-headline UFC 250 on May 9 back in early March, before COVID-19 concerns caused the sports world to shut down. Since then, stay-at-home orders remain in place throughout states across the U.S. Nunes’ home gym, American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., remains open only to professional fighters preparing for bouts. The limits on whom she can train with and how she trains aren’t enough for Nunes to want to continue on.

However, Nunes is focused on still fighting Spencer and hopes to make it happen in June, assuming the UFC schedule is running.

“I like this matchup a lot,” Nunes said. “I like to fight girls like her – tough, want to fight all the time, she’s not a running fighter. She’s really going to bring that, and I love it. That brings out the best in me.”

Just not at the moment under less-than-ideal circumstances.

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Triple Take: On the merit of each UFC title fight planned for May 9

The UFC is targeting a return to action on May 9 with three title fights, but are these the right championship bouts to make?

The UFC is back to pushing for a return to action in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, with a major card announced for May 9 that will apparently consist of three championship bouts: Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title, Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight belt, and Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer for the women’s featherweight strap.

If the promotion is able to find a way to pull off the event, did the organization put together the appropriate championship matchups? MMA Junkie’s Simon Head, Farah Hannoun and Mike Bohn give their opinions in the latest edition of Triple Take.

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Simon Head: Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje

Let’s be honest here, we all want to see Tony Ferguson back in the cage. He made weight at home last weekend, even though he already knew his fight was off and has gone to great lengths to let the world know that he’s in championship shape and ready to go.

His ever-elusive fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov may be on the back burner (yet again), but if we’re looking for a suitable replacement, it really doesn’t get much better than Justin Gaethje. Both men are among the most exciting fighters in the sport to watch, both have the ability to finish fights in an instant and, best of all, both have an entertaining habit of turning every one of their fights into all-out barnburners.

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On top of all of that, it’s the right fight to make from a divisional standpoint, too. Gaethje is the highest-ranked ’55er not to have fought for a title yet, while Ferguson never actually lost the interim title in competition.

It means Ferguson vs. Gaethje is a slam-dunk booking at 155 and sets everything up perfectly not only for fight night, but also for what comes next, which (pretty please) will see the winner take on Nurmagomedov around September for the undisputed unified title.

If ever there was a main event fight to kick-start the UFC’s return to business, this is it.

Next page – Farah Hannoun: Cejudo vs. Cruz

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Dana White: UFC to return May 9; Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje, other title fights on tap

The UFC is eying a May 9 return, with an event at a location to be determined, but a blockbuster lineup in mind.

The UFC may be back sooner than anticipated.

When UFC president Dana White canceled UFC 249, he also postponed all subsequent events indefinitely due to restrictions caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as well as a request to stand down by the UFC’s broadcast partners at ESPN and Disney. However, the promotion is now eying a May 9 return, with an event at a location to be determined.

Tuesday, MMA Junkie confirmed the UFC’s considered plans with a person with knowledge of the situation. The person asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting was the first to report the plans.

Dana White later informed ESPN the promotion is looking to rebook various big fights that were delayed by the schedule change, including [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] (originally set to headline UFC 249), [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag] (originally in the works to headline UFC 250), [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Felicia Spencer[/autotag] (originally set to co-headline UFC 250), and [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (originally set to headline UFC on ESPN 8).

Upon announcing the cancellation and postponements, White promised the UFC would be the first sporting organization to return to normalcy – whether it be on a mysterious “Fight Island” he said the company is currently constructing, or elsewhere.

“We will be the first sport back,” White said. “‘Fight Island’ is real. It’s a real thing. The infrastructure is being built right now, and that’s really going to happen. It will be on ESPN.”

If the event isn’t scheduled for “Fight Island,” the state of Florida could be another potential location for the UFC to hold the May 9 card. In a press release issued Monday, Florida governor Ron DeSantis revealed some sporting events, including WWE, will be deemed essential businesses.

It’s unknown if Tachi Palace Casino in Lemore, Calif. could be in the cards, as well. The Indian reservation casino was targeted to be the new home of UFC 249 on April 18, prior to ESPN and Disney executives asking the UFC to cancel the event entirely.

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Prior to the announcement of postponements, the UFC had 11 events publicly on tap: UFC 249 (April 18 in Lemore, Calif.), UFC on ESPN+ 31 (April 25 in Lemore, Calif.), UFC on ESPN+ 32 (May 2 in Lemore, Calif.), UFC 250 (May 9 at Location TBD), UFC on ESPN+ 33 (May 16 in San Diego), UFC 251 (June 6 in Perth, Australia), UFC Kazakhstan (June 13 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakstan), UFC Saskatoon (June 20 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada), UFC Austin (June 27 in Austin, Texas), UFC 252 (July 11 in Las Vegas), and UFC Dublin (Aug. 15 in Dublin, Ireland).

The status of all above events are currently unknown.

According to ESPN, the proposed May 9 event includes the following lineup:

  • Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje – for interim lightweight title
  • Champ Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz – for bantamweight title
  • Champ Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer – for women’s featherweight title
  • Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
  • [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Yorgan De Castro[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Michelle Waterson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ronaldo Souza[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Niko Price[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag]

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This Coachella-inspired UFC poster is so, so good

Brilliant.

With the UFC shutting down indefinitely on Thursday, we are now guaranteed to be without major MMA action for who knows how long. It could be a month if Dana White gets his way, but it’s likely to be longer than that if the global coronavirus pandemic doesn’t tail off soon.

And so, what do we do without fights? We dream. You know what would be nice? If, when the UFC comes back, the promotion satisfies starved MMA fans with an epic weekend. [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag], [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag], [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag], [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag], [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag], [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag], [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag], [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] … just book them all for a three-day weekend of action Coachella style.

Speaking of Coachella, the iconic music festival was supposed to kick off this weekend. On Friday, a Twitter user who goes by Ariel Helvani (with a “v”) blessed us with this Coachella-inspired UFC poster:

Just look at all those amazing matchups. But also, I can’t stop laughing at the fine print! In addition to fights, there’s also:

  • Leon Edwards Sadly Watching Covington vs. Masvidal
  • African American History With Mike Perry
  • B.J. Penn vs. Drunken Hawaiian Off The Street
  • The Evolution of Dance Presented By Holly Holm and Mini Blessed Holloway
  • Kevin Lee Fitting Into All This
  • Tony Ferguson Fighting Again Because He’s The Type Of Guy To
  • The Joe Rogan Experience Live With Nate Diaz & A Lot Of Marijuana

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Well done, Mr. Helvani.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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UFC free fight: Relive Amanda Nunes’ promotional debut in 2013

Amanda Nunes was able to show off her ground game in her UFC debut against Shiela Gaff in 2013.

[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] was able to show she’s more than just a striker in her UFC debut.

In 2013, 25-year-old Nunes (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC) was matched up with Shiela Gaff at UFC 163 in her home country of Brazil.

Nunes came out strong, firing heavy shots, then ducking under for the takedown. Gaff was able to defend, then transition to the back, but Nunes got out and eventually landed the takedown.

It didn’t take long after for Nunes to finish the fight. She was able to get full mount with relative ease, but Gaff used her strength to escape until she was taken right back down to the mat. Nunes rained down numerous elbows on Gaff until the referee stopped the fight.

It was the start of an incredible career for Nunes, who her ups and downs early in her UFC career, including a stoppage loss to Cat Zingano in her third fight with the promotion.

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But after the loss to Zingano, Nunes went on a remarkable run en route to capturing both the bantamweight and featherweight titles, becoming the first woman in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously.

She’s also looking to become the first fighter in promotional history to defend both titles. She’s scheduled to put her 145-pound title on the line against Felicia Spencer at UFC 250.

With the coronavirus outbreak, the fight will likely not happen May 9 in Brazil. But both fighters seem willing to compete if circumstances allow them to.

Ahead of that, check out Nunes’ win over Gaff in the video above.

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With growing concerns surrounding UFC 250, Felicia Spencer suggests Florida for title fight vs. Amanda Nunes

With the location for UFC 250 potentially in jeopardy, Felicia Spencer suggests Florida as a location for her title fight vs. Amanda Nunes.

With the status of April’s UFC 249 unclear, [autotag]Felicia Spencer[/autotag] is hinting that May’s UFC 250 may also be facing some changes.

With the UFC still struggling to pin down a location for UFC 249 due to the travel bans implemented during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there are growing concerns surrounding UFC 250, which is currently scheduled to take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 9. The card is expected to feature a championship double header, including a featherweight title fight between dual-champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] and Spencer.

Rumors have been swirling regarding Florida being a potential location for UFC 249, a possibility strengthened by the fact that the Florida State Boxing Commission sanctioned a regional MMA show as recently as last week.

Both Spencer (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Nunes (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC) train out of their respective gyms in Florida, and Spencer is urging Nunes to stay put in “The Sunshine State.”

“@Amanda_Leoa we both live in Sun with rays Florida, let’s get #UFC250 Right-facing fistto our back yard🏝. Please don’t leave! @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite @ufc”

Spencer emerged as the No. 1 contender in the UFC’s women’s featherweight division when she stopped Zarah Fairn at February’s UFC on ESPN+ 27. “Feenom” also holds a first-round finish over Megan Anderson, who was also in the running for a title shot, before the UFC decided to go with Spencer.

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