Tag: The Ultimate Fighter 30

Amanda Nunes opens up on decision to leave American Top Team, reveals ‘TUF 30’ coaching staff

“It’s nothing to do with the gym. Actually, we’re still good. I can still walk in that gym and train whenever I want.”

[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag]’ departure from American Top Team had nothing to do with her most recent loss, she said.

The news came in wake of her shocking upset loss to Julianna Peña at UFC 269, and though she’ll get an opportunity to reclaim the women’s bantamweight title, she’ll be doing it with a different coaching staff.

Nunes (21-3, 14-3 UFC), who still holds the women’s featherweight title, will be opening her own gym and insists her split with her longtime American Top Team home was amicable.

“Actually, I always wanted to open a private spot,” Nunes told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Monday’s “Ultimate Fighter 30” media day. “I never said I’m going to open a gym to compete against (American Top Team). That never came out of my mouth. But I always wanted to have a little private space for me because even at American Top Team, I always did my things separate. I had my time to go, and I had my coaches there waiting for me to help me with my camp. It was always like that.

“It was always in my head that I might one day want to have a space. I want to see all my teachings on the wall, put up my logo, all those things that a lot of fighters want to do at some point in their career, and I feel like this is the moment for me. I want to go on my own for a little bit. American Top Team, together we did amazing things – all the coaches, the gym, the owner Dan Lambert. I feel like we did everything for each other. But now for me, for my head, for now I feel like I should go do what I really want.”

Nunes will be debuting her new coaching staff when she films Season 30 of “The Ultimate Fighter” opposite Peña (11-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC), whom she is expected to rematch after the show airs. The season begins filming this month and the first of the 12-episode season will debut May 3 and stream on ESPN+.

Nunes’ new team will be comprised of several familiar faces she’s already worked with throughout her career.

“I feel like I deserve to do what I want to do,” Nunes said. “It’s nothing to do with the gym. Actually, we’re still good. I can still walk in that gym and train whenever I want. I still have a good relationship. I didn’t close the door because nothing (bad) happened. It didn’t go my way, but we made a lot of things together. We made history together.

“Actually, that was something that I want to do different, too. But the coaches used to be at American Top Team. It’s Kami Barzini – he used to be the wrestling coach when I got there. I started training wrestling with him at American Top Team, but he ended up leaving, and so I started training with Mike Brown. And Roger Krahl. Roger was an American Top Team coach, too. So it comes from that. It comes from American Top Team, anyways. They’re not there, but I’m pretty sure they really have amazing moments that they’ll always remember as well.”

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Julianna Peña excited to check off ‘bucket list’ item as ‘TUF’ coach while preparing for Amanda Nunes rematch

Julianna Peña will be focusing on her team of UFC hopefuls as well as herself during the filming of “The Ultimate Fighter 30.”

“The Ultimate Fighter” has given a boost to the careers of many fighters over the years and UFC women’s bantamweight champion [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] is a shining example.

The world was introduced to Peña (11-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) on season 18 of the long-running reality series, which was coached by two women who were a part of one of the most heated rivalries in women’s MMA history, former UFC bantamweight champions [autotag]Ronda Rousey[/autotag] and [autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag].

That season was the first time women fighters competed on the show for a UFC contract, and when it was all said and done, Peña emerged as the champion. Fast-forward eight years later, Peña is now the women’s bantamweight champion – the eighth “TUF” champion to go on to claim UFC gold. Naturally, when the opportunity presented itself to be a part of “TUF,” but this time in a coaching role, the choice was a no-brainer for Peña.

“Let’s go, I’m there,” Peña told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Monday’s “TUF 30” media day about signing up for the job. “This is something that I’ve always wanted to do. This is something that I’ve always put on my bucket list as far as giving back to the next generation of fighters coming up. I just can’t wait to see the success of my team and to help them be the best fighters they can be.”

While Peña gets to check off an item on her list by coaching her team of men’s heavyweights and women’s flyweights, she has to be mindful of what will follow the completion of the show – a rematch with Amanda Nunes. Considering the former champ’s dominance over the division, an immediate rematch was the most likely scenario Peña would face after submitting Nunes in the second round at UFC 269.

“In one sense, while I’m training my team, I’m going to be right alongside them training myself,” Peña said. “Maybe we can work the whole season on what I need to do in order to make sure this rematch is gonna go off without a hitch, I don’t know. It’s just as much about them as it is about me, but let’s not forget, I got a fight at the end of this and I need to make sure that I’m the best fighter that I can be as well.”

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The rematch between Nunes and Peña is expected to take place later in the year, however, there is currently no expected timeframe for the fight to take place.

Ultimately, Peña envisions the journey on the show with her team will generate long-lasting relationships as they all fight to accomplish their goals. While her team will be looking for entry into the UFC, Peña will be preparing to defend the gold she claimed in December with the same intensity as before to ensure she silences any remaining doubters.

“There’s still naysayers out there,” Peña said. “There’s still people that say it was a fluke. There’s still people that think whatever the excuses were. She had COVID, she was sick, she was hurt – whatever the issue is, I want to lay it to rest one more time and silence the naysayers. So yeah, we can run it back. Whenever you want to do it, we can do it.”

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Video: Julianna Peña, Amanda Nunes share respectful faceoff in ‘TUF’ coaching gear

Check out Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes get face-to-face while rocking their coaching gear for “The Ultimate Fighter 30.”

The two women who will lead teams of UFC hopefuls came face-to-face on Monday at “The Ultimate Fighter 30” media day in Las Vegas.

UFC women’s bantamweight champion [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] and women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag], who will coach teams of men’s heavyweights and women’s flyweights on the upcoming season of TUF, faced off while wearing their coaching gear.

The pair met inside the cage at the final UFC pay-per-view event of 2021, where Peña shocked the world by defeating Nunes by submission. The MMA Junkie’s Upset of the Year award-winning moment led to the pair coaching opposite one another on TUF. After filming of the season which begins later this month, the fighters will prepare to meet again inside the cage for what UFC president Dana White believes will be “the biggest women’s fight of all time.”

Check out the staredown in the video above.

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Amanda Nunes: With or without the belt, I just want to really prove I’m better than Julianna Peña

Amanda Nunes is motivated to avenge her loss to Julianna Peña.

[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] is motivated to avenge her loss to [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag].

Nunes (21-3, 14-3 UFC) suffered a shocking upset loss to Peña (11-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in the UFC 269 co-main event this past in December and lost the women’s bantamweight title by second-round submission.

Still the UFC’s women’s featherweight champion, Nunes is eager to get the 135-pound belt back – not just to regain her dual-champ status, but to get the fight back from Peña.

“Honestly, of course the belt is something that all of us chase,” Nunes said in an interview with ESPN. “At this point in my life, I just want to show up 100 percent how I want to be. So with the belt, without the belt, I just want to really, really prove I’m better than her.”

Peña and Nunes will coach Season 30 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which will feature teams comprised of four women’s flyweights and four men’s heavyweights. The show begins filming this month and the first of the 12-episode season will debut May 3 and stream on ESPN+. The pair are expected to rematch after the airing of the show concludes.

In the wake of her loss to Peña, rumors emerged that Nunes will be departing her longtime gym, American Top Team, to start her own team. For Nunes, “The Ultimate Fighter 30” will be a good opportunity to kickstart the coaching career that she’s always had in mind.

“Every fighter wants to one day be a coach,” Nunes said. “So this is a perfect opportunity to start doing it with a bunch of fighters to see how I do with them, to put my experience out there. They’re going to share some things with me, too. So I’m so, so happy to share these things with them and help them make their dream come true.

“After all of this is done, I want to be a coach. So when I say I want to open a gym, I didn’t say I’m going to open a public gym. I want to open a private space. If I have to start over, I want to do something the way I want to do (it).”

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‘The Ultimate Fighter 30’ cast of men’s heavyweights, women’s flyweights revealed

Check out who will be competing on season 30 of TUF, headed by coaches Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes.

The competitors on the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter” have been officially announced by the UFC.

The long-running reality series returns for season 30 and beings filming in February. The first of the 12-episode season will debut on May 3 and air on ESPN+.

Per a press release, the promotion revealed the 16 names of the UFC hopefuls who will battle it out for a contract. The teams of men’s heavyweights and women’s flyweights will be coached by UFC women’s bantamweight champion [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] and UFC women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag]. Contestants and alternates already are in Las Vegas with medicals and COVID-19 testing underway.

The men’s heavyweights include Mohammed Usman, the younger, yet larger brother of UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, and Bobby Maximus a 43-year-old, three-fight UFC veteran who appeared on the second season of TUF.

The women’s flyweight roster includes a host of Invicta veterans such as Chantel Coates, Claire Guthrie, and Juliana Miller. Helen Peralta has bareknuckle boxing success while Melissa Parker brings her professional boxing experience to the competition.

Check out the full roster of fighters who be a part of Team Peña or Team Nunes:

MEN’S HEAVYWEIGHTS

  • Nyle Bartling, 29 (6-0)
  • Chandler Cole, 27 (8-3)
  • Jordan Heiderman, 30 (5-0)
  • Bobby Maximus, 43 (5-4)
  • Zac Pauga, 33 (5-0)
  • Eduardo Perez, 27 (4-1)
  • Mitchell Sipe, 25 (5-2)
  • Mohammed Usman, 32 (7-2)

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHTS

  • Chantel Coates, 34 (2-1)
  • Claire Guthrie, 26 (3-1)
  • Juliana Miller, 25 (2-1)
  • Kaytlin Neil, 30 (5-4)
  • Kathryn Paprocki, 28 (3-2)
  • Melissa Parker, 35 (2-1)
  • Helen Peralta, 33 (4-2)
  • Brogan Walker, 32 (7-2)

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