Amanda Nunes

Claressa Shields’ promoter invites Amanda Nunes to boxing champion’s next title fight

Claressa Shields’ promoter, Dmitriy Salita, says the plan is to invite Amanda Nunes to Shields fight vs. Ivana Habazin on Jan. 10.

[autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] was in attendance to watch [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] defend her UFC women’s bantamweight title at UFC 245. And, if things go according to plan for the world boxing champion’s promoter, the two-division UFC women’s champion could soon return the favor.

Shields’ promoter Dmitriy Salita said that Shields’ camp will be extending an invitation to UFC featherweight and bantamweight champ Nunes to attend Shields’ light middleweight title fight against Ivana Habazin on Jan. 10, where she will attempt to be the fastest boxer to capture a world title in a third weight class.

Shields, who said she’s willing to fight Nunes in both boxing and MMA bouts, was invited by UFC president Dana White to watch “The Lioness” defend her 135-pound title against Germaine de Randamie in Las Vegas earlier this month.

And now Salita hopes Nunes will accept their invitation to watch Shields compete in the boxing ring, so the Brazilian can get a taste of her world.

“It was great for Claressa to go see Amanda fight live and that created a lot of interest,” Salita told MMA Junkie. “We’d like to invite Amanda to Claressa’s next fight, which is going to be on Jan. 10. Hopefully she can show up and see Claressa first hand. It’s a work in progress – the media is interested, the fans are interested and, from the feedback we’ve received from multiple media sources, you can see how many people will write about it.”

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Nunes, who had previously been on a run of demolishing former champions via knockout, adopted a grapple-heavy approach in her rematch with de Randamie. And, in the post-fight press conference following her unanimous decision victory, Nunes said that if Shields wants to fight her, she should come to her world, rather than vice versa.

But Salita thinks that proposition is unreasonable, considering that Shields has no experience in the grappling arts. In addition, Shields would need significant time to train for what would be her first MMA fight.

“Obviously, Amanda said what she said about fighting Claressa in a UFC fight but here’s the big difference,” Salita said. “There is no part of boxing that involves wrestling, that involves grappling. A big part of the UFC is striking, and Amanda is one of the best, if not the best, striker in the women’s game. So Amanda will be in her territory being a striker fighting another striker in Claressa. In the UFC, it wouldn’t really be Claressa’s territory because she has no experience in grappling, that type of grappling or kicking or any of that stuff.”

With White looking to expand to Zuffa Boxing, and inviting Shields to a UFC event, it seems clear that the UFC is interested. But it may depend on the fans generating enough buzz to persuade Nunes to accept a boxing match with the two-time Olympic champion, but Salita is already seeing interest grow on social media.

“Even on my YouTube channel, which has many of Claressa’s fights, most of the comments have been on the Nunes clash so it’s pretty awesome that there is fan interest and the fans are responding in a positive way and something like this brings boxing fans and UFC fans together,” said Salita. “I think it’s so big that non-combat sports fans would be interested as well.”

But first, Shields has business to attend to as she takes on Habazin next month. Also on that card is Alicia Napoleon-Espinosa, who attempts to unify the women’s super middleweight world titles against Elin Cederroos, and should Napoleon-Espinosa and Shields both prevail, Salita expects them to square off next.

So, timeline-wise, Salita says we could potentially be looking at a Nunes vs. Shields boxing match by the end of 2020.

“In the ideal world, Claressa will fight Amanda sometime before the end of the year,” he said. “So I think sometime next fall, late time in fall would be the perfect time. By that time, I believe that both of these champions, the name is going to progress and grow bigger and the popularity is going to be there.

“If it happens, I believe it will be the biggest women’s match, boxing or UFC, of all time, and something in the likes of Mayweather-McGregor,” he continued. “If it can happen, it would really be tremendous, not only for the sports world, but also culturally and socially. I think it’ll have a tremendous, positive effect on the growth of women’s sports not only in the United States but throughout the whole world.”

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A look at how the UFC’s champ-champ era has been a struggle

The results of Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo, and Amanda Nunes’ dual UFC title reigns haven’t been great.

The moments we’ve seen fighters carry two UFC title belts over their heads have been nothing short of magical. They’ve provided a truly memorable and special feel, but the fallout of those scenarios has been utterly disappointing.

Four fighters in UFC history have held belts in two divisions at the same time. The results of those reigns, however, have been borderline disastrous.

After Henry Cejudo relinquished his flyweight belt on Thursday, three of those four iconic dual-champ figureheads have had their champ-champ status ended without losing the gold in the cage, and that’s kind of a problem.

Let’s look at how it’s all unfolded …

Conor McGregor

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] was the original champ-champ. After beating Jose Aldo for featherweight gold at UFC 194, McGregor added the lightweight title to his collection with a knockout of Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 at UFC 205. It took just 14 days for the UFC to strip him of the 145-pound strap, then he would have the 155-pound belt taken away 17 months later while he occupied himself with a Floyd Mayweather boxing match and the extensive time off that came afterward. McGregor didn’t defend either title and hasn’t touched UFC gold since.

Daniel Cormier

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag]’s dual-champ reign was probably the most successful of all, because he actually made a title defense while in possession of both. While holding the light heavyweight strap, Cormier moved up to heavyweight and knocked out Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 in July 2018. He defended the heavyweight belt against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 in November 2018, but would never return to 205 pounds. The UFC made a title fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 in December 2018, and just one day before the fight took place, Cormier announced he was relinquishing the gold in a, “You can’t fire me, I quit” type of moment.

Henry Cejudo

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]’s time as a simultaneous two-division champ lasted six months, but he did not compete during that window. After defending his flyweight title against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC on ESPN+ 1 in January, Cejudo moved up to bantamweight to fight for the vacant strap after Dillashaw failed a drug test and was stripped of the belt. Cejudo would joins the history books with a memorable finish of Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 in June to take the 135-pound belt, but he suffered a shoulder injury in the bout and is still recovering from surgery. With a clear intent to fight the bigger names at bantamweight, the UFC and Cejudo mutually agreed he would give up the flyweight belt so the division could move forward.

[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag], of course, still holds dual-champ status. The longtime women’s bantamweight queen got her second belt when she knocked out Cris Cyborg at UFC 232 to claim the featherweight title, but it’s been nearly a year since that fight, and she’s yet to defend the 145-pound belt. After defending the 135-pound title against Holly Holm in July, Nunes was adamant about defending her other title next. She couldn’t find a willing foe at featherweight, though, and that’s going to continue to be a frustrating dilemma as long as both titles are in her possession.

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Top MMA fighters of the decade, 2010-2019: Amanda Nunes ranked No. 6

The consensus greatest female fighter of all time, UFC featherweight and bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has an undeniable resume.

The 2010s, arguably the most important decade in the history of mixed martial arts, is coming to a close. One reason why the past 10 years have been so pivotal to the sport is the sheer talent that exists across all divisions – men and women, from flyweight (which didn’t even exist until February 2012) to heavyweight. Simply put, the number of great fighters to grace cages and rings across the world never has been higher.

Here at MMA Junkie, we’ve put together a staff-wide, composite ranking of the top 10 fighters of the past decade, which we’ll reveal Monday-Friday until Dec. 27. Today, we reflect on No. 6: Amanda Nunes.

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The consensus greatest female fighter of all time, UFC featherweight and bantamweight champion [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] has an undeniable resume.

Joining a select few to hold two UFC titles simultaneously, Nunes (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC) has taken out every notable name and champ in the organization, and capped off the decade with her 10th straight win.

Nunes defeated former UFC featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie via unanimous decision at UFC 245, notching her fifth title defense at 135 pounds. But before de Randamie came a long list of top-ranked fighters whom Nunes dispatched of, one after the other.

“The Lioness” started out her UFC tenure in 2013 by compiling a 5-1 record, which included a win over current UFC flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko.

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That earned her a title shot vs. then champ Miesha Tate at UFC 200, where Nunes scored the biggest win of her career to date, a dominant first-round finish to capture the UFC 135-pound title.

She then welcomed back returning former UFC bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey at UFC 207 in what ended up being a rude welcoming for Rousey. Nunes felt disrespected going into the fight and came out with a point to prove. She once again scored a first-round finish, raining a barrage of punches on Rousey until the referee had to pull her.

After that came the rematch with Shevchenko at UFC 215 in a tightly contested battle where Nunes was able to narrowly get the win, momentarily closing the chapter on their rivalry. Then came her third title defense, when Nunes defeated Raquel Pennington via fifth-round TKO in her home country of Brazil, which led to the biggest fight of her career.

Nunes moved up in weight to take on the unstoppable Cris Cyborg at UFC 232, in attempt to capture a second title at 145 pounds. And in a shocking performance, Nunes knocked out Cyborg with a huge overhand right, handing Cyborg her first loss in over 13 years to capture two titles simultaneously. Another first-round finish for Nunes, which cemented her in many people’s eyes as the greatest female fighter in history.

Riding high from her win over Cyborg, it was hard for Nunes to top that performance heading into her fight with another former champion in Holly Holm at UFC 239. But Nunes was able to knock her out with Holm’s patented head kick in the first round for her fourth successful title defense at 135 pounds.

It was a fantastic decade for Nunes, who finished the decade strong with her fifth title defense over de Randamie, taking out every top-level fighter and big name available to her.

And at only 31, she’s not done yet.

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Top MMA fighters of the decade, 2010-2019: Amanda Nunes

MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun reflects on our No.6 fighter of the 2010s, Amanda Nunes.

MMA rankings report: UFC 245 aftermath

Let MMA Junkie’s John Morgan and George Garcia walk you through the aftermath of a consequential night at UFC 245.

UFC 245 lived up to its billing as a consequential event.

Saturday night’s event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas lived up to the hype as the UFC finished it’s 2019 pay-per-view calendar with a bang:

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] defended his welterweight title in the main event in a stirring victory over a game Colby Covington, finishing things in the final minute of the fifth round.
There’s a new sheriff in town at men’s featherweight, as [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski [/autotag]downed Max Holloway to take 145-pound gold.
[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] left no doubt where she stands, as the women’s featherweight and bantamweight champ defended her latter belt with a one-sided win over Germaine de Randamie.

And there were many more fights with meaningful divisional implications all up and down the card.

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How did these results and more play out in this week’s USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings? Let “Gorgeous” George Garcia and John Morgan walk you through all the changes of note in the video above.

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Dec. 17: Welcome to the pound-for-pound list, Alexander Volkanovski

UFC 245 featured three title fights, so some of the biggest names in the sport were in action, but many of them were already at the top.

UFC 245 featured three massive title fights, so some of the biggest names in the sport were in action this past weekend, but many of them were already at the top of their divisions.

UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] and women’s double champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] were already ranked No. 1 in the world, so their victories simply kept them in position. But [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] was not in the same situation.

Entering the card at No. 3 in the featherweight division, Volkanovski upset Max Holloway en route to claiming the UFC featherweight title with a fantastic five-round performance. As an added bonus, he now moves up to No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, while also debuting on the pound-for-pound list at No. 11.

Volkanovski wasn’t the only one making moves, though. Check out the updated list to see where names like [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag], [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag], [autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag] and others sit following their UFC 245 performances.

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Claressa Shields: Amanda Nunes fight would be one of the biggest in boxing history

Claressa Shields thinks a boxing match with Amanda Nunes would be one of the biggest in history.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] thinks a boxing match with [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] would be one of the biggest in the sport’s history.

The undisputed world middleweight boxing champion was in attendance for UFC featherweight and bantamweight champ Nunes’ successful 135-pound title defense vs. Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245.

Shields and her manager have been in talks with UFC president Dana White on potential crossover fights, and Shields thinks that a fight with Nunes would be massive.

“You know what he (White) said, he said that Amanda would do anything,” Shields told reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage at T-Mobile Arena. “She feels she’s – she is the GWOAT in MMA, and I’m the GWOAT in boxing. It would be one of the biggest matches in boxing history. I think that you’ve never seen two women who are young, in their prime, hungry and who just don’t want to lose so I think that me and her facing each other, would be one of those fights that people really see fireworks and stuff like that.”

Nunes didn’t seem too keen on boxing Shields, and in her UFC 245 post-fight press conference, said if Shields wants to fight her, she should come to her world.

But Shields is willing to do both.

“Of course for me, boxing is my passion, I would love to do it in the ring but, I’m also a fair person. Like I’m fair game, if she comes to my world, I’ll be more than welcome to come to her world.”

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For now, she is scheduled to take on Ivana Habazin on Jan. 10, where she attempts to win a world title in a third division, light middleweight.

So Shields expects to face Nunes in a boxing match sometime mid-2020, followed by an MMA fight a year later.

“Mid next year, end of next year, MMA match can happen a year after that,” Shields said.

“It’s just about whenever we get a deal signed and sealed then let me know how much time I have to get ready to get inside the octagon and I’m not talking about six months, or a year but give me like actual time where I can have a chance – I feel like I have a chance now but once we go to the ground and stuff, I have to learn that, and I know that. Me being an olympic athlete, I know that I can learn different – a different sport and catch on quicker than just a regular person.”

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Spinning Back Clique: What’s next for Usman, Covington; is Khabib-McGregor 2 on the horizon?

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” unpack the latest MMA news and notes in Episode 7 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” react to what transpired at UFC 245 and preview what’s to come for a few big names in 2020.

Show rundown:

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] defended his welterweight title in the main event of UFC 245, downing bitter rival [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] in the fifth round of an incredibly competitive fight. Afterward, Usman expressed more interest in facing [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] next rather than [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag]. What makes more sense?
Meanwhile, Covington’s rise to the top has been one of scorched earth, and many fans and fighters were clearly happy to see him lose. That said, his performance was quite impressive in the fight, so where does he go from here?
In the night’s co-main, [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] claimed gold by scoring an impressive decision win over former champ [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]. It appears an instant rematch is on the horizon, but is there a possibility that’s not the right move?
[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] picked up yet another victory and remains a UFC dual champion. The only problem? It doesn’t seem there’s a line of contenders waiting for her to face. Boxing gold medalist [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] has expressed some interest in trying her hand at MMA, but Nunes doesn’t seem to want to reciprocate by giving it a go at boxing, so what’s next for “The Lioness”?
UFC 245 was the final UFC pay-per-view of the year, so it’s natural to start taking a look at 2020. UFC president Dana White has already started laying out plans for a potential rematch between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, but “The Eagle” is saying that’s not going to happen. Who’s right?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 7 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

UFC 245 salaries: Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington top list of disclosed paydays

A total of 12 fighters made north of six figures Saturday at UFC 245, and that number increases when post-fight bonuses are factored in.

Main event combatants [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] each pocketed $500,000 for their respective efforts at UFC 245.

MMA Junkie recently obtained the list of the disclosed paydays for Saturday night’s card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas from the Nevada Athletic Commission, which oversaw the event.

UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovksi[/autotag], who won the belt in the evening’s co-main event, earned $250,000 for his performance. Former champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag], who lost the belt, took home a $350,000.

UFC women’s double champion [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] pocketed $450,000 for her bantamweight title defense against [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag]. Dutch challenger de Randamie earned $100,000.

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Former UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] was the fourth highest-paid athlete on the card. Despite losing to [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] in his drop to bantamweight, Aldo earned $400,000.

The total disclosed payroll for the event was $4,096,000.

The full list of disclosed UFC 245 paydays included:

Kamaru Usman: $500,000 (no win bonus)
def. Colby Covington: $500,000
Alexander Volkanovski: $250,000 (no win bonus)
def. Max Holloway: $350,000
Amanda Nunes: $450,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus)
def. Germaine de Randamie: $100,000
Marlon Moraes: $220,000 (includes $110,000 win bonus)
def. Jose Aldo: $400,000
[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]: $122,000 (includes $66,000 win bonus) def. [autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag]: $250,0000
[autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag]: $62,000 (includes $31,000 win bonus) def. [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag]: $90,000
[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: $80,000 (includes $40,000 win bonus) def. [autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag]: $33,000
[autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag]: $110,000 (includes $28,000 win bonus) def. [autotag]Ian Heinisch[/autotag]: $50,000
[autotag]Matt Brown[/autotag]: $160,000 (includes $80,000 win bonus) def. [autotag]Ben Saunders[/autotag]: $35,000
[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus) def. [autotag]Daniel Teymur[/autotag]: $18,000
[autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag]: $62,000 (includes $31,000 win bonus) def. [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag]: $25,000
[autotag]Jessica Eye[/autotag]: $96,000 (includes $48,000 win bonus) def. [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: $45,000
[autotag]Puna Soriano[/autotag]: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. [autotag]Oskar Piechota[/autotag]: $20,000

The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, including the official UFC 245 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay. They also do not include any other “locker room” or special discretionary bonuses the UFC sometimes pays. They also do not include pay-per-view cuts that some top-level fighters receive.

For example, UFC officials handed out additional $50,000 UFC 245 fight-night bonuses to Yan and Aldana for “Performance of the Night,” and Usman and Covington for “Fight of the Night.”

In other words, the above figures are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.

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Amanda Nunes not interested in boxing Claressa Shields: ‘Come to my world’ instead

“I’m going to wrestle the (expletive) out of you and finish you with a jiu-jitsu submission.”

LAS VEGAS – Contrary to most MMA fighters, [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] is actually not that interested in boxing.

Nunes (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC), the UFC featherweight and bantamweight champion, successfully defended her 135-pound title for the fifth time over the weekend with a unanimous decision win over Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245.

One person who was watching closely was boxing world champ [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag], who was actually flown in by UFC president Dana White to watch the fights cageside. Shields’ side has expressed interest in facing Nunes twice, in both a boxing match and an MMA fight.

But it appears the UFC double champ is game for only one.

“I’m an MMA fighter. Why she wants to take me from my sport?” Nunes said at the UFC 245 post-fight news conference. “If she wants to fight me, come to my world. It doesn’t make any sense. I respect her as a boxer, but I’m an MMA fighter. I don’t like to fight boxing. I like MMA. I like what I did today. If she handles that for five rounds, come see me.”

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After surviving the early onslaught, de Randamie started finding some success on the feet before Nunes used her grappling to take over the fight. De Randamie had no answer for Nunes’ takedowns, and Nunes wonders how Shields would want to fight her after what transpired Saturday night.

“She saw tonight. I think she’s not gonna want anything to do with this,” Nunes said. “She wants to see me, I’m going to wrestle the (expletive) out of you and finish you with a jiu-jitsu submission. I want to see how she’s going to feel.”

Shields did say that she’d need more than six months to a year in order to prepare for an MMA fight with Nunes, but Nunes thinks it’s going to be way more than that for her to adapt.

“Six months to learn how to defend a takedown? Germaine six years, she didn’t even learn how to defend a takedown,” Nunes said. “You guys saw tonight, like don’t even listen to this girl, guys.”

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