Amanda Nunes, probably the most dominant ladies’s fighter in UFC historical past, says she is popping out of retirement.
Nunes (23-5) stated she intends to battle the winner of Saturday’s 135-pound championship bout between Julianna Peña and Kayla Harrison at UFC 316. The previous two-weight UFC champion retired from MMA in June 2023, however has lengthy teased at a possible return. Nunes, 37, can be in attendance at UFC 316 in Newark.
“I missed [fighting] a lot,” Nunes stated throughout a fan Q & A on Friday. “My child is huge now. She did not sleep a lot at evening [as a baby] and I used to be involved about that as a result of we fighters want sleep. However now, my child is greater and I am able to go. Kayla or Julianna, I’ll be prepared.”
Nunes and her associate, former UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff, have two youngsters, born in 2020 and 2023.
Whereas UFC president Dana White has stated previously that he would like to see Nunes return, the promotion has not commented on whether or not she can be first in line to face the Pena-Harrison winner subsequent.
“The Lioness” has historical past with each ladies in Saturday’s title battle. Peña (11-5) scored one of many greatest upsets in UFC title battle historical past when she submitted Nunes for the belt in 2021. The UFC booked a right away rematch and Nunes dominated Peña in a five-round resolution. Harrison (18-1) is a former sparring associate and teammate of Nunes at American High Group in Coconut Creek, Florida.
Nunes was the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound ladies’s fighter on the planet on the time of her retirement. On Friday, she expressed hope that longtime No. 1 pound-for-pound male fighter Jon Jones would maintain off his pending retirement lengthy sufficient for them to compete on the identical card once more. They co-headlined playing cards in 2018 and 2019.
“I might like to battle on the identical card [as Jones],” Nunes stated. “That might be superior. I all the time have good luck when Jon is on the cardboard. I hope he hears that.”
