On Saturday night, after the UFC 289 main event, Amanda Nunes retired as reigning champion of the UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight divisions.
Nunes is without a doubt one of the greatest – if not the greatest – women to ever set foot in the Octagon. At the post-fight press conference, Nunes declared any future title charges “fake forever”, because none of the women in either weight class could take the belt from her.
Amanda Nunes Calls All Future UFC Belts In Her Divisions “Fake Forever”
“No, I’m going to have my belt at home with me. That’s going to be the fake one. It’s going to be fake forever. Whoever gets the belt now, it’s going to be just, like, pretending to have it. So I’m gone. I’m good. I did everything, all is taken care of in my life.
Thank you to the UFC, they really took care of me and they’re always going to take care of me. So I’m going to be around here. If I don’t do anything, I’m still going to go up and down just to be around, because I love this sport so much and I did everything to be the best. And I proved it tonight. I retired with my two belts.”
With such an obvious power vacuum at the top, it’s easy to wonder who will step up to claim UFC championship in her absence. Amanda Nunes simply isn’t bothered about who will take the title now that she’s gone.
“Honestly, I want to be there just to watch. For me, right now I don’t really care. I beat all of them, so there’s nothing left. If anybody gets this belt now, it’s just to have it, because I did everything in this division. This division is gone. All of them.
I beat all the girls out there, all the best girls, so I just want to watch from the outside now what’s going to happen. I’m going to be there, for sure.”
The only woman to successfully strip Nunes of a title – only to lose it in the immediate rematch – was Julianna Peña. Peña took to social media in the immediate wake of Nunes’ retirement announcement, calling her a “coward,” but “The Lioness” can only laugh at her old opponent.
“Oh my goodness, what can I say about that girl? She’s supposed to be here. I’m supposed to beat her tonight again. She’s the one that was hurt in training, break the ribs, what am I going to do?
If it was Julianna Peña [I was fought against] tonight, I don’t retire. Because I want to fight somebody that I never fought before to retire. Tonight, it wouldn’t have been the night. I would have beat Julianna and then fight Aldana or whatever and then retire.”
