Don’t look now, but Conor McGregor may have set a trend. After decimating former UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey at UFC 207, Amanda Nunes has turned her eye North. To featherweight, that is. Speaking to TMZ (via Fox Sports), the champ suggested that a run at 145lbs was very possible. “Honestly, I want to take a little time, enjoy it a little bit but I really look forward to this 145-pound belt” she stated. “Maybe I’ll go up to fight for the 145-pound belt. We’ll see. Maybe I’m going to have two belts like Conor McGregor.”
While nothing is set in stone, the move makes sense. Nunes has already scored wins over the two biggest names in the women’s bantamweight division, Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey. She finished both within a round. In February at UFC 208, meanwhile, former bantamweight champion Holly Holm will meet Germaine de Randamie for the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight belt. With Cris “Cyborg” Justino facing a lengthy suspension following a failed drug test, the title picture in the new division remains murky after that.
Enter Nunes. It’s easy to see her heading up in weight to try and duplicate McGregor’s success. And unlike the men’s featherweight division, in wouldn’t create a total logjam, as there are few contenders in the mix at the moment outside of Valentina Shevchenko and Julianna Pena, who meet later this month at UFC on Fox 23.
