UFC president Dana White isn’t thrilled at the thought of Amanda Nunes retiring.
Nunes holds both the UFC women’s featherweight and bantamweight titles. She is regarded as the best female fighter on the planet and one of the best MMA athletes, period. Her resume speaks for itself with dominating finishes over the likes of Cris Cyborg, Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, and Holly Holm. Even at the young age of 32, Nunes is a future Hall of Famer and her legacy is intact. This is why “The Lioness” is taking retirement into consideration.
Dana White Hopes Amanda Nunes Ditches Retirement Idea
White appeared on The Schmozone Podcast and reacted to Nunes contemplating retirement (via MMAJunkie).
“You know what’s awesome about that when you think about it? Her retiring isn’t awesome; that actually drives me nuts. You know how I always say, ‘If you’re talking about retiring, you probably should.’ Unless if you’re where she’s at,” White said. “In this time when I got guys crying about money, one of our female fighters, who could go on and keep doing this for a long time, is saying, ‘Maybe I retire now.’ She’s got plenty of money, and she can do it.”
White said the reason he isn’t gung-ho about Nunes potentially retiring lies on the future of the women’s featherweight division. As it stands right now, the UFC is lacking in that weight class. After Felicia Spencer, who got shutout by Nunes in their bout, and Megan Anderson, it’s clear to see the lack of depth. The UFC boss says the division is built around Nunes and if she goes, the UFC is stuck with a 145-pound weight class that will likely draw little interest unless someone special quickly emerges.
At the very least, Nunes plans to take some time off. She hopes to sit out the rest of 2020 to take a break and focus on becoming a mother. If Nunes decides to hang up her gloves, she’ll have walked away with a pro MMA record of 20-4 and has the distinction of being the first female UFC “champ-champ.”
