The Early Days
Amanda Nunes was born in Salvador, Brazil, on May 30, 1988. She said she was always a very energetic child who got into trouble. Her mother was often called into school since Amanda often got into fights. To focus her energy on something more productive, Amanda's mother (Ivete Nunes) decided to sign her up for a capoeira class. Her mother backed her move into mixed martial arts, since she herself trained in boxing.
How Amanda got into martial arts
Amanda has fighting in her genes since both her mother and her uncle were fighters. Her uncle José Silva was a Vale Tudo fighter.
Amanda went to her first capoeira class at the age of five and then started learning karate at the age of seven. At sixteen years old, she started training BJJ after her sister Vanessa invited her to the dojo. At the time, she also started training in boxing, where she dominated her male training partners. After there were no more challenges in front of her, she moved with her sister to Salvador, where she trained at the Edson Carvalho academy.
The gym is where she received her nickname "The Lioness" Since the logo of the gym were two lions, her training partners started calling her "Leona" due to her ferocity. Amanda was one of the fighters who lived at the gym; it is obvious she dedicated her whole life to becoming an accomplished martial artist at an early age. She became a Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Champion in 2008 and a World Jiu-Jitsu Champion in 2009.
Her MMA Career
Nunes started training MMA in 2007 when she was 19 years old. At the beginning of her MMA career, she had the seek-and-destroy style where as soon as the bell rang, she would come forward, throw the first punch, and try and knock her opponent out as soon as possible. She was a distinguished BJJ and judo competitor, but her hands were what opponents feared. Amanda was blasting people from the get-go.
Amanda turned professional in 2008 at Prime MMA Championship 2. She had won five fights prior to signing with Strikeforce, where she had her debut on January 7, 2011. On September 10, 2011, Amanda suffered her first defeat in her professional MMA career. Her juggernaut style scored her some points in the first round, but since she didn't finish off her opponent as she had planned, she was left gasping for air. Her opponent Alexis Davis managed to obtain full mount where she finished Amanda with strikes.
Amanda Enters The UFC
In 2012 Amanda signed with Invicta FC, where she won a fight vs. Raquel Pa'aluhi and lost vs. Sarah D'Alelio. Amanda signed with the UFC and made her debut at UFC 163 on August 3, 2013, in Brazil, where she faced Sheila Gaff, who she defeated via TKO in the first round. In her second fight, she faced off against the undefeated kickboxer Germaine de Randamie who she defeated via TKO in the first round.
After pulling out of her next fight due to an injury and losing the fight after that, Amanda went on a three-fight winning streak. The last fight before her title shot was one of the most noteworthy ones since she faced the highly skilled Valentina Shevchenko, who she defeated via unanimous decision.
The Double Champ
Amanda faced Miesha Tate for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship on July 9, 2016, at UFC 200. Amanda managed to win the fight via submission in the first round, making her the first openly gay UFC champion.
For her first title defense, Nunes faced Ronda Rousey at UFC 207, who she defeated via TKO in the first minute of the first round. For her second title defense, Nunes fought a rematch vs. Shevchenko at UFC 215 on September 9 in Edmonton, Alberta. The fight was very close and championship-worthy; however not without controversy since Amanda won via split decision. Many UFC fans and media outlets were very vocal when saying that Valentina was robbed of her win.
After another title defense, Nunes moved up in weight to Cris Cyborg for the UFC Women's Featherweight Championship on December 29, 2018, at UFC 232. Amanda knocked out Cyborg in the first minute of the first round, making her the Women's Featherweight Champion. Amanda became the first woman in the UFC to hold two championship belts at the same time.
Nunes defended her belts for her next four fights in dominating fashion before she faced Julianna Peña at UFC 265. To everyone's surprise, Amanda lost her bantamweight title when she was submitted by Juliana via rear-naked choke in the second round.
A rematch against Julianna Peña for the UFC Women's Bantamweight title is scheduled on July 30, 2022, at UFC 277.
Amanda Nunes is a true lioness. Whether she wins her rematch against Julianna Peña, she is a force to be reckoned with, and she has already cemented her place as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history.
