Amanda Nunes wants to be a fighting champion before throwing leather with Cris Cyborg.
Nunes, the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight title holder, is set to defend her title against Raquel Pennington at UFC 224 on May 12. The announcement surprised many, as Cyborg and Nunes were said to be in contract negotiations. Those talks stalled later on.
“The Lioness” has had two successful title defenses and feels there is more work to be done. Those defenses saw Nunes finish Ronda Rousey in 48 seconds and a split decision win in a rematch with Valentina Shevchenko. Whereas bantamweight challengers were thought to have been cleared out, that simply isn’t the case.
During a recent appearance on UFC Unfiltered, Nunes discussed her thought process when she was open to the idea of fighting Cyborg next (via MMAFighting.com):
“When I texted Dana White that I wanted the fight, I didn’t have nobody in my division. I didn’t even know if I was gonna fight soon. I was concerned with waiting years because I’ve been in that position before, waiting so long for a fight, I don’t want to do it again and stay waiting, waiting, waiting.”
She went on to say that Pennington has emerged as a clear contender and that another 135-pounder is quickly on the rise.
“But now, we have Rocky [Pennington] and we have the Brazilian, Ketlen [Vieira] and I feel like my division is starting to grow. If you pay attention, the division’s gonna be awesome and now I have two. I have Rocky and I have Ketlen. Rocky is my next step and I want to see Ketlen after, for sure.”
Leave a comment below. Do you agree with Amanda Nunes in that there are still worthy bantamweight contenders left?
