LAS VEGAS – Neither Amanda Nunes nor her impressive reign atop two divisions in the Ultimate Fighting Championship are showing any signs of decline.
In fact, her dominance is making history.
Nunes became the first UFC fighter to defend two championship belts while actively holding the titles in both weight classes Saturday night, earning a dominant unanimous decision over featherweight contender Felicia Spencer at UFC 250.
Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt also knocked out Raphael Assunção an instant before the second-round bell in the co-main event at a fan-free gym on UFC’s corporate campus. UFC 250 was the second event held at the UFC Apex gym in the mixed martial arts promotion’s hometown since its resumption in competition amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Nunes (20-4), widely considered the greatest female fighter in MMA history, is UFC’s champion of the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. The list of two-division UFC champions is short – and no one else has defended both belts.
“Guys, no one else ever did that before!” Nunes said. “It’s amazing. I knew something big was going to happen in my life. Sometimes you’re surprised by how big it is.”
While Nunes’ dominance was tested in her previous bout against bantamweight Germaine De Randamie in December, the relatively inexperienced Spencer (8-2) provided little danger to the champ, other than the remote possibility of breaking her hands in repeated collisions with Spencer’s face.
Nunes battered the slower Spencer with her fearsome striking power from the start, cutting the challenger’s face and later sending her mouthpiece flying away during the third round. Spencer had a nasty hematoma growing on her forehead after the fourth round.
“I want to go to five rounds with the toughest girls, and tonight I proved it,” Nunes said. “I knew Felicia was the toughest girl in this division, and I know she’s going to handle it exactly how she did tonight. I wanted to prove it. I could go to six rounds. Everything we worked on, I wanted to put in there.”
Nunes comfortably defended her featherweight belt for the first time since taking it from Cris “Cyborg” Justino in December 2018. She has defended the bantamweight belt five times since 2016.
Nunes limped into her news conference with help from her coaching staff. Her shins are often sore after fights because her kicks are so effective.
The injury likely isn’t serious, but Nunes said she could be out for the rest of the year for happier reasons: She and her partner, Nina Ansaroff, are expecting a child in three months.
AP photo by John Locher / Irish MMA star Conor McGregor celebrates after defeating Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone during a welterweight bout at UFC 246 on Jan. 18 in Las Vegas.Goodbye for good?
Conor McGregor has announced his retirement for the third time in four years.
McGregor abruptly made his latest dubious declaration Sunday morning on his Twitter account, where the former two-division UFC champion also announced his retirement in 2016 and 2019.
“Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting,” McGregor wrote in a caption below a photo of him and his mother. “Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been!”
The 31-year-old Irish superstar revitalized his combat sports career in January with an impressive first-round stoppage of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246. McGregor (22-4) hadn’t won a fight in a MMA cage or a boxing ring since 2016, but he remained UFC’s brightest star and biggest financial draw.
UFC president Dana White has already said McGregor is next in line for a title shot at the winner of lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s bout with Justin Gaethje this summer.
UFC’s schedule is in upheaval due to the coronavirus pandemic, but McGregor was expected to get his title shot later this year, and he recently had been talking to White about taking another fight even earlier. Just this past week, McGregor posted photos and videos of himself training for fights.
White was still willing to take McGregor’s retirement announcement at face value – at least publicly – when he learned about it at his news conference after UFC 250.
“If Conor McGregor feels he wants to retire, you know my feelings about retirement,” White said. “You should absolutely do it. And I love Conor. There’s a handful of people that have made this really fun for me, and he’s one of them.”
Retirements are a time-honored device for gathering attention and increased bargaining power in combat sports. From Muhammad Ali and Floyd Mayweather to Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, countless champions of boxing and MMA have gone back on their solemn announcements whenever need or ego brought them back to the sport.
McGregor made his first Twitter retirement announcement in April 2016 during a spat with UFC about promotion of his rematch with Nate Diaz.
McGregor famously wrote: “I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya’s later.”
McGregor and Diaz fought in August 2016.
Three years later, McGregor retired again in March 2019 in what White believed was a gambit to entice the company to offer him an ownership stake. McGregor began talking about new fights shortly afterward, and he eventually returned to face Cerrone in early 2020.
The loquacious McGregor has long proven that his pronouncements can’t be taken as gospel truth. Earlier this year, McGregor “accepted” future fights against former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and long-retired boxing superstar Oscar De La Hoya with little reason to think they will ever happen.