The rumors, teases, and unofficial statements are over.
Recently announced UFC Hall-of-Famer Amanda Nunes is returning to the Octagon, and her plan is to challenge the winner of the UFC 316 co-main event to regain her women’s bantamweight title.
In a Q&A with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on Friday, the eve of UFC 316, Nunes said, “I missed [fighting] so much,” Nunes said on Friday. “My baby is big now. She didn’t sleep much at night [as a baby] and I was concerned about that because we fighters need sleep. But now, my baby is bigger and I’m ready to go. Kayla [Harrison] or Julianna [Peña], I’m going to be ready.”
Nunes retired in June 2023 following a successful title defense against Irene Aldana, but many believed she may have been walking away from the sport prematurely. UFC CEO Dana White has made it clear he thought Nunes left too soon.
Nunes is unquestionably the greatest female fighter of all time and one of the best ever regardless of gender. Currently, Nunes has a record of 23-5, and that mark includes an unprecedented run as the UFC’s bantamweight and featherweight champion.
From March 2015 through 2023, Nunes went 14-1, including a 12-fight win streak. Nunes’ lone loss during her dominant stretch came against Peña.
The current champion defeated Nunes via second-round submission at UFC 269 to win the title. Nunes regained the title with a unanimous decision victory in their rematch.
Peña wanted a trilogy fight and notoriously booed Nunes as the latter placed her gloves in the center of the Octagon back in 2023 when the Lioness walked away from the sport.
As it turns out, Peña could get another crack at her rival. She has a massive test on her hands on Saturday in New Jersey. Harrison, an Olympic gold medalist and former Professional Fighters League champion, is vying to become the first woman to win titles with both organizations.
Harrison has been pretty dominant in her two fights in the UFC, with a stoppage win over Holly Holm and a unanimous decision victory over Ketlen Vieira to earn the title shot.
Harrison’s biggest issues have seemingly been just making weight. She’s never missed weight, but has looked worse for wear each time. Friday was no exception, as the world-class athlete looked massively depleted on the scales but rejuvenated later that evening during the ceremonial weigh-ins.
In any case, Nunes will be in the house at the Prudential Center to likely face off with the winner. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Nunes vs. the winner scheduled for the November pay-per-view in New York.
Here is a look at the entire UFC 316 card.
Main Card
- Merab Dvalishvili (c) vs. Sean O’Malley – Bantamweight Title
- Julianna Peña (c) vs. Kayla Harrison – Women’s Bantamweight Title
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer – Middleweight
- Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix – Bantamweight
- Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland – Welterweight
Prelims
- Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van – Flyweight
- Johnny Walker vs. Azamat Murzakanov – Light Heavyweight
- Serghei Spivac vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta – Heavyweight
- Khaos Williams vs. Andreas Gustafsson – Welterweight
- Ariane da Silva vs. Wang Cong – Flyweight
- Jeka Saragih vs. Joo Sang Yoo – Featherweight
- Quillan Salkilld vs. Yanal Ashmouz –Lightweight
- MarQuel Mederos vs. Mark Choinski – Lightweight
