Amanda Nunes has become one of the most dominant female performers in mixed martial arts. This Saturday at UFC 232, she will have the opportunity to become the consensus most dominant should she manage to pull off the upset against Cris Cyborg for the featherweight championship in the co-main event. But the fact that Amanda Nunes is even the underdog heading into any fight after what she’s accomplished might call into question where Nunes’s head will be leading into the bout. Will being the underdog affect her confidence in any way? Will she be fighting with a chip on her shoulder? According to Nunes, anything that comes out of being placed as the underdog will be a positive. And according to the bantamweight champion, it is when she is in this situation where she shines the brightest:
“I’m always the underdog,” Nunes said during the UFC 232 conference call on Thursday. “I love to fight like that. I love to be the underdog. I love to be the one (who) nobody expects that I’m not going to do anything. This is the big thing for me. I like to fight in this kind of position.”
It’s true. In the three biggest fights in her career, Amanda Nunes has been placed as the underedog, and all three times she emerged the victor. Nunes was the underdog when she headlined the milestone UFC 200 event challenging Miesha Tate for the bantamweight championship, then went on to submit Tate in the first round. She was also the underdog against Ronda Rousey at UFC 207. And once again, Nunes went on to dominate and close the show in the very first round. And in her rematch against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 215, Amanda Nunes was again the underdog and once again picked up the victory. She will look to silence doubters once more when she faced Cris Cyborg on Saturday, and she will do so pressure-free.
“I don’t have nothing to lose in this fight. I don’t have nothing to lose, only to win. And I’m good with it.”
Do you believe Amanda Nunes will once again be victorious as the underdog when she faces Cris Cyborg at UFC 232?
