Amanda Nunes Believes a Win Over Cris Cyborg Makes Her the Greatest of All Time
Amanda Nunes has already done a lot in her career.
She had already put together a strong resume after first joining the UFC roster with wins over the likes of Germaine de Randamie and Shayna Baszler, but it’s the last three years that put the Brazilian into a category all her own.
Nunes ran through Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann and then won the women’s bantamweight title with a devastating finish against Miesha Tate at UFC 200. Her most high profile win came at the end of 2016 when Nunes absolutely demolished former champion Ronda Rousey, which cemented her spot as the best 135-pound women’s fighter on the planet and sent her opponent packing for World Wrestling Entertainment.
Since that time, Nunes has picked up two more title defenses against current UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko as well as Raquel Pennington, but it’s her next fight that could be the most important of her whole career.
On Saturday night at UFC 232, Nunes faces women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg with the opportunity to win a second world title. In fact, this is the first time in UFC history two champions from the women’s divisions will face off inside the Octagon.
As if that wasn’t already enough, Cyborg is widely considered the best pound-for-pound women’s fighter in the world while going undefeated for more than a decade with only one fighter (Holly Holm) managing to take her to a decision in the past nine years.
That’s why Nunes believes that a win over Cyborg, while simultaneously becoming the first female two-division champion in UFC history, should make her the greatest women’s fighter of all time.
“Yes, for sure,” Nunes answered when asked if she would be considered the greatest with a win at UFC 232. “I think Cris is the best in her division and this fight is going to put me on another level. This is 100-percent.”
It’s hard to argue with her logic considering everything Nunes has done recently but finding a way to defeat Cyborg at 145-pounds could be the crowning achievement in her career.
While the spotlight may have been brighter when she faced off with Rousey in 2016 thanks to the star power that followed the former champion, Nunes knows that this is by far the biggest and best challenge she’s faced in the UFC.
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“[This] definitely is bigger than the Ronda Rousey fight,” Nunes said. “A true champion has never happened before in the UFC. This is the first time and for that reason, it makes the fight bigger than the Ronda Rousey fight and I am prepared for this fight also.
“I’m physically amazing, in the best shape that I’ve ever been before. And my mind is so like focused for this moment in my career and I’m very excited.”
