When Is Amanda Nunes Fighting Next
After an easy first-round submission win over Megan Anderson at UFC 259, Amanda Nunes is left with few contenders skilled enough to face her in the octagon. Many fight fans wonder, again, what’s next for Nunes?
Amanda Nunes currently defends titles in both featherweight and bantamweight divisions, the only fighter in history to achieve this honor. Nunes is considered to be one of the greatest fighters in MMA history and possibly the greatest female fighter in the sport.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report that Nunes will defend her UFC Featherweight Title against Megan Anderson. The date for the fight would December 12 for UFC 256. No other matchups have been announced yet for the card. Nunes (20-4) would be defending the UFC Featherweight Title for the second time. Amanda Nunes says she ‘wouldn’t have any problem’ facing Cris Justino again if ‘Cyborg’ returns to the UFC, but Dana White hints Julianna Pena could be next. Nunes, who is widely considered to be the greatest female fighter of all time, improved to 21-4 in MMA, 14-1 in UFC, while Anderson dropped to 10-5 and 3-3.
Pena Calls Out Nunes
Julianna Pena called out Amanda Nunes after her submission win over Sara McMann at UFC 257. Nunes ignored the call-out since she was defending her bantamweight title at that time. Pena called out Nunes yet again after her defeat against Anderson.
Now that Amanda Nunes is expected to return to her original weight of 135-pounds, a Pena vs. Nunes matchup could very well be in the works. Nunes seemed uninterested in the fight but told reporters after her win that she would never turn down a fight and would go in the octagon with anyone Dana White put her in with.
- UFC president Dana White says he is interested in having Amanda Nunes fight Julianna Pena next for the UFC women’s bantamweight title. Nunes got through Megan Anderson with relative ease at UFC 259, as she tapped her opponent out for her second defense of the UFC women’s featherweight title.
- Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson will still fight each other after all. Originally, Nunes was set to defend her featherweight title against Anderson at UFC 256. However, due to undisclosed reasons.
After UFC 259, UFC President Dana White told reporters that Juliana Pena had been texting him all night and that, “Yeah. It could happen” when asked about the bout. Pena was scheduled to fight Holly Holm, but we understand that Holm has had to withdraw from this fight.
Fight me @Amanda_Leoa !
— Julianna Peña (@VenezuelanVixen) March 7, 2021
What’s Next for Nunes in the UFC?
Juliana Pena was slated to fight Holly Holm on May 8. Dana White stated that he wanted to get Nunes back in the ring quickly since the Anderson bout was an easy win. Since Pena seems to be the only possible contender who can stand with Nunes, look for the two to battle it out in the octagon very soon.
Possible Nunes Retirement?
Don’t count on Amanda Nunes retiring from the sport any time soon. She told reporters after UFC 259 that she felt great and loved what she does. She further stated that she feels like she gets better with age.
Without question, Nunes is where she loves to be. Every fighter who steps into the octagon brings their skills, but some bring a little more heart than others. Nunes has the heart of a fighter and certainly belongs in the UFC.
While Nunes hunted of retirement earlier in the year, will likely see her in the octagon for many more fights. Nunes and her wife, Nina Ansaroff, welcomed home a daughter in September. This changed Nunes’ outlook on life and at the time, she told reporters she was unsure what the future would hold.
It seems quite certain now that the octagon is part of Nunes’s future.
The Baddest Woman on Earth
Nunes earned the moniker “Baddest Woman on Earth” since joining the UFC. During her professional career, Nunes has won honors including:
- #1 Pound for Pound Female MMA Fighter
- #5 MMA Fighter of the Year 2018
- #1 Best Featherweight
- #5 Fighter of the Year 2016
- #34 Top Fan Favorite MMA Fighter
- #50 Greatest MMA Striker of All Time
- #13 Greatest MMA Fighter of All Time
Nunes is widely considered one of the most successful fighters in MMA history and is one of only three fighters ever to hold titles in two weight classes at the same time. What’s next for Nunes when she has achieved so much in her professional career already?
In December, YouTuber Jake Paul called out Conor McGregor. Dana White quickly shut down the idea of that match on social media. Nunes responded by tweeting “I’m in.” Paul said he would never fight Nunes, to which White responded “She would put you in a coma, dude.” Do not look for a bout between Jake Paul and Amanda Nunes (or, anyone in the UFC, for that matter) any time soon.
What’s Next for Nunes in the UFC?
Juliana Pena was slated to fight Holly Holm on May 8. That fight has since been cancelled. Dana White stated that he wanted to get Nunes back in the ring quickly since the Anderson bout was an easy win. Since Pena seems to be the only possible contender who can stand with Nunes, look for the two to battle it out in the octagon very soon.
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UFC 259 represents a milestone during a stretch of fights that will have major consequences for the rest of the year. Three title bouts will shape the future of four divisions, with the card in Las Vegas headlined by a champion-vs.-champion clash between light heavyweight Jan Blachowicz and middleweight Israel Adesanya.
If Adesanya wins, his future is wide open and both divisions are his to defend as he chooses. But what happens if he loses? Is Blachowicz the one taking the bigger risk by facing the undefeated challenger?
Before the main event, Amanda Nunes defends her women's featherweight title against Megan Anderson. If Nunes wins, the future of that division is murky at best. Could it be her last fight at 145 pounds? What could the UFC do with the featherweight division?
In the third title fight, Petr Yan defends the bantamweight title against Aljamain Sterling. The betting odds are tight, and it projects to be a strong candidate for the best fight of the night. Will it live up to the hype, and what will it mean for the growing list of potential challengers in one of MMA's most exciting divisions?
Ariel Helwani, Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, Jeff Wagenheim and Phil Murphy weigh in on the biggest questions heading into Saturday's pay-per-view.
Purchase UFC 259 here.
Israel Adesanya's star won't fall very far if he comes up short on his champ-champ quest
What's Next For Amanda Nunes
Helwani: That's real, although it depends on how he loses. If it's a close decision, no harm, no foul. If he gets brutally knocked out, a lot of Adesanya's allure will disappear. Part of what makes him special is we have yet to see anyone beat him or even seriously hurt him in MMA.
Even if loses, he'll still be a middleweight champion, and he can still go back to dominating at 185 pounds. One subsequent win in that weight class and Adesanya would be right back on track. The champion moving up or down to get a second belt always has less pressure on his or her shoulders than the one looking to successfully defend, and that's the case here, too. Adesanya is fighting for gravy. Blachowicz is fighting to keep his spot. Huge difference.
This will be Amanda Nunes' last title fight at 145 pounds
Raimondi: Not real, but I do think it will be her last featherweight defense for a long while -- if she can get by Megan Anderson, of course. Nunes is a massive favorite in this fight, and for good reason. She's the best female fighter in the history of MMA. That's indisputable. Anderson is a very good talent on a two-fight winning streak, a 6-foot athlete who has yet to reach her full potential in MMA. But Nunes is a tough obstacle to overcome for anyone. Just ask Ronda Rousey. Or Cris Cyborg. Or Holly Holm and Felicia Spencer, both of whom have beaten Anderson.
If Nunes wins at UFC 259, there is no other women's featherweight fighter on the roster who would even be close to a title shot. There are barely any women's featherweight fighters on the roster, period. The UFC doesn't even have rankings for the division. I'm not really sure what the long-term strategy is for the women at 145 pounds, but anyone who could be in line to challenge Nunes would have to be either a 135-pound fighter moving up or someone woefully unprepared. And with regard to the former, Nunes is the champion at 135 pounds, too. So why wouldn't a challenger just fight Nunes there?
The whole situation is unique, making this a weight class that is barely hanging on. So what makes me say 'not real' to the statement that Nunes will never compete in a title fight again at featherweight? Well, Kayla Harrison, a two-time Olympic champion in judo, could come over to the UFC next year after she competes in a second PFL season. She was PFL champ at 155 pounds in 2019. Nunes and Harrison are teammates at American Top Team, but Harrison said she'd still love to challenge herself against Nunes in the UFC, because it is Harrison's goal to become the greatest women's MMA fighter of all time. Nunes currently holds that distinction.
There are surely many variables at play here. But if Nunes beats Anderson, the next time she defends the UFC women's featherweight title might well be in 2022 against Harrison.
Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling will be the best fight of UFC 259
Murphy: On a typical card, the bantamweight title fight between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling would be a runaway Fight of the Night favorite. UFC 259 is not a typical card.
Surveying MMA fans and media, Yan-Sterling would probably still garner the plurality of votes as the likeliest bout to earn each fighter $50,000 postfight. Of the three championship bouts on the card, it has the closest odds, with the assumption being it's the most evenly matched. The other two title fights have clear avenues to be better, though.
If Israel Adesanya can outclass but not finish Jan Blachowiicz, it will likely harken back to Adesanya's 2019 win over Kelvin Gastelum -- a fight many considered the best of the year -- at UFC 236, but with bigger bodies. If Megan Anderson solves the Amanda Nunes puzzle with length and durability, that will be talk of the postfight broadcasts.
Even beyond the title fights, when you start scrolling through names, it's hard to have any assurances that Yan-Sterling will prove the best of the 15 scheduled bouts when you see Thiago Santos, Dominick Cruz, Carlos Ulberg and a pair of flyweight fights promised to go at warp speed among others lower down the card.
Yan has been an absolute force for the better part of five years. He possesses rare power for the division with technical boxing, and he has paired that with a growing aptitude on the ground. His status as best bantamweight on the planet is deserved. Sterling has found his stride on a similar timetable, with a clear edge in grappling. He has emerged as a worthy challenger to the throne. The technical specifics, the respective career arcs, plus some recent bad blood combine to make this a Fight of the Night contender. But the rare depth of the event makes it impossible to say Yan-Sterling will be the best fight at UFC 259 with any measure of confidence.
If Yan wins, he'll defend vs. Cory Sandhagen; if Sterling wins, he'll defend vs. TJ Dillashaw
Okamoto: Hard to say at the moment, because I know the UFC has interest in booking Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw. That's a great fight, and it makes a lot of sense. If Sandhagen were to beat Dillashaw, his profile would be even bigger than it is now going into a future title fight. And for Dillashaw, I think he's behind Sandhagen in terms of a title shot at the moment, so this would be a way to get himself to the front of the line.
Now, if the UFC doesn't finalize that bout between Sandhagen and Dillashaw in the next several days, then we'll be looking at a situation in which Saturday could dictate a lot. Who wins, and who calls out whom after. As of right now, I think Sandhagen has the leg up on the next title shot. But if neither he nor Dillashaw has a fight booked this week, and Sterling gets the win, it does open the door for Dillashaw to get a shot.
When Is Amanda Nunes Fighting Next
Dominick Cruz will jump back into title contention with a win over Casey Kenney
Wagenheim: On the surface, not real. But it really depends on how one defines 'title contention.' A victory on Saturday, no matter how rip-roaring, would not put Cruz directly into a challenge for the belt. I've miscalculated the various divisional pecking orders before, in my naive belief that UFC matchmakers would base their title bout bookings on recent results in the cage. But I feel confident in saying Cruz, who competed for the bantamweight championship less than 10 months ago and is on a two-fight losing streak, isn't getting another shot before Cory Sandhagen (two straight wins) and Rob Font (three in a row) get theirs.
When Is Amanda Nunes Fighting Next Season
Doesn't it feel like a lifetime ago when, on June 4, 2016, Michael Bisping became middleweight champion? That also was the night of Cruz's most recent victory. He was in his second reign as champ when he beat Urijah Faber to boost his record to 22-1 and extend his winning streak to 13 in a row. But even in those heady times nearly five years ago, Cruz's standing in the division was on shaky ground. He had competed only two other times since 2011, with injuries derailing him again and again. So it's encouraging that he's now back in the cage a little more consistently. At age 35, he doesn't have time to be idle. 'The Dominator' has to make every appearance count.
When Is Amanda Nunes Fighting Next Season Game
If we view 'title contention' in a broad sense, then yes, it could be a real thing for Cruz. He carries the cache of having been a longtime champ, perhaps the greatest in the history of the 135-pound division. We recently saw another legendary ex-champ, Jose Aldo, get a title shot following two straight losses. So sure, Cruz could take the express lane back to the top. But even within that context, Cruz faces competition from both rising stars and other former titlists who seem better positioned. Cody Garbrandt, despite having won just one of his past four fights, is drawing attention. So is Dillashaw, who is coming off a PED suspension and has not won a fight since 2018. And don't forget Henry Cejudo, who keeps hinting from the MMA 'retirement home' that he wants back in.