Amanda Nunes may still face Cris Cyborg in the future but not without having the time to prepare for the fight.
The reigning 135-pound women’s champion was rumored for a showdown with Cyborg earlier this year but the matchup never came together and they both ended up with fights against different opponents.
Cyborg stepped up on short notice to help save UFC 222 in March when she dispatched former Invicta FC champion Yana Kunitskaya while Nunes is preparing for her bout against Raquel Pennington next weekend at UFC 224 in Brazil.
If all goes well in Nunes’ upcoming title defense, she’s still open to that fight but nothing is set in stone that Cyborg will be her next opponent.
“After my fight against Rocky, we will talk again and we will see,” Nunes told the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast this week.
Following her win in March, Cyborg had suggested that she would fight Nunes as early as July in a champion versus champion showdown at UFC 226 in Las Vegas.
With Nunes fighting on May 12, the quick turn around was going to be nearly impossible not only for the sake of her health but also taking into consideration the kind of size she would need to gain to compete at featherweight.
According to Nunes’ girlfriend and fellow UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff, for the fight with Cyborg to happen, she would have to be given adequate time to put on the extra weight to compete at 145 pounds and there’s no way that would happen with only two months to prepare for Cyborg.
“The talk in December was maybe Cyborg in July. That would give her time to be 145 [pounds],” Ansaroff explained. “She’s not doing a catchweight. She wants to go to 145 but then to be like fight 135 and then her want to do it in July, she’s coming from her smallest to meet you at your weight. She needs a little more time than that.”
While the Cyborg fight is still interesting, Nunes also has another contender champing at the bit to face her as fellow Brazilian Ketlen Vieira has put together an impressive win streak while rising up the ranks since joining the UFC roster.
That’s why Ansaroff says nothing is decided yet regarding Nunes’ next fight after she faces Pennington.
“Who knows what’s going to happen then,” Ansaroff added. “There’s other girl fights, 135 is starting to get competitive again.”
Who wins in a fight between Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
