Daughter motivates Amanda Nunes in UFC title defense

Owner of two UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) belts and with a record of 21 wins and four losses, Amanda Nunes is still thirsty to expand her legacy as one of the greatest MMA fighters in history.

At 33, the woman from Bahia recently gained a new motivation for this: the birth of her first child, Raegan Ann Nunes, the result of her marriage to the North American fighter Nina Ansaroff.

“After Raegan was born, she gave me a different gas. I want to take her everywhere and in fights. I want to have many memories with her. There are many girls who fought until I was 41, 42. So I still have a lot to achieve,” said the Brazilian to leaf.

This Saturday (11), at UFC 269, in Las Vegas, in the United States, Amanda will make her eighth title defense, the sixth for the bantamweight title (up to 61.2 kg), against the American Julianna Peña , 32. The duel will be part of the main card, in which Charles do Bronx will defend the lightweight belt. The fights will start at midnight, at the turn of Saturday to Sunday. Combat will broadcast.

The Bahian is favorite to win the confrontation and keep the belt, one of the two she holds, as she is also featherweight champion (65.7 kg). She is the first woman in MMA history to hold two titles simultaneously.

“If you ask the fighters, they’ll say they sleep thinking about me, they put their heads on the pillow every day thinking about Amanda Nunes. I’m sure they have me as a reference and, of course, they want to be in my shoes.” stated.

In fact, she is one of the biggest UFC legends. In addition to carrying two titles, she hasn’t lost a fight since 2014, when she was knocked out at UFC 178 by American Cat Zingano, in Las Vegas.

After that, he won in sequence Shayna Baszler and Sara McMann, from the United States, and Valentina Shevchenko, from Kyrgyzstan, before overcoming Miesha Tate, in July 2016, when she won the bantamweight belt.

As champion, Amanda defended the title in duels against Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko, Raquel Pennington, Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie.

Among those fights, in December 2018, she defeated compatriot Cris Cyborg, considered the greatest MMA fighter in history, when she became featherweight champion.

Thirsty for more confrontations before thinking about her retirement, Amanda said she waits for new women in the UFC to have more opponents. Giving Julianna Peña a chance is part of her movement to contribute to the renewal of the category.

“There came a point where it was between me, Holly Homes, Germaine and Miesha, who is now back. The category has kind of cooled down. Not now. Julianna came, we have new girls, it gave a little shake up.”

Fifth in the roosters ranking, the challenger from Bahia has a record of ten wins and four losses in the UFC. “Julianna came at the right time. She’s talkative, I like that. I already knew her, she piqued my interest too,” said the champion.

It will be Amanda’s first fight since Reagan’s birth, on September 24, 2020. At just a year and three months old, the girl seems to demonstrate that she can walk the path of her mother and be an athlete.

As far as the fighter is concerned, however, it will not be in the octagon that she will act, but in the fields. “I prefer to take her to football. Here in the United States, women’s football is very strong in schools. So it’s something I would really like to see her play. But I won’t push.”

Despite enjoying playing ball around the house, Reagan often imitates her mother during practice. “She makes a hip escape back and forth, just watching us train. I’ve never taught her anything. She already likes it, she has a fighting spirit,” says the champion.

At the moment, Amanda just wants to keep her belt and continue to cherish good memories with her daughter. “Having the belt is already a motivation for life, and now I want to have as many memories as possible with it,” he concluded.