It wasn’t a beautiful win for Amanda Nunes but she did just enough to preserve one of her UFC titles.
Regarded as the greatest of all-time in women’s mixed martial arts, Nunes has been undefeated in her last nine outings since losing to Cat Zingano in 2014.
This emphatic run includes winning the featherweight and bantamweight belts to become one of the few simultaneous twp-weight champs in the UFC history.
‘The Lioness’ put her bantamweight strap on the line against Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245 and more importantly, she is out to cement his status as the female MMA GOAT.
“Everybody knows I’m going to look for the takedowns. We all know that. But if she makes a mistake, I will knock her out. I’m ready to do whatever this fight takes (from) me, but I will walk away with my belt,” she told MMA Junkie in a previous interview.
“I don’t sleep on her. This is the fight of my life. I’m going to step in there and I know she’s going to be 100 percent. I know she’s going to bring it and I’m ready.”
Have Fun
Despite being the underdog in this showdown, de Randamie said she is overwhelmed about the opportunity to have a dance with the best female MMA fighter.
“Have fun, absolutely have fun and I get to fight the best female MMA fighter there is at this moment,” she told Fansided.
“So that us just one thing in itselt that is awesome.”
‘Iron Lady’ seeks to preserve his five-fight winning streak alive and pull off a major upset.
And while Nunes will capitalize on her takedown, de Randamie said her advantage over the defending champion is on the feet.
“She made me wake up. I can say I’m a mixed martial artist now, not just a kickboxer. The difference will be I’m a mixed martial artist and not a kickboxer,”
“I think the most thing I learned about it and the thing that will happen Saturday is she’s not going to stand with me.”
“She’s going to shoot on me.”
Dominant
In a surprising turn of events, Nunes went the distance against GdR and her challenger had some big moments especially when she almost submitted the champion in the fourth round.
But ‘The Lioness’ was able to escape and once again turned to her impeccable ground game to dominate de Randamie.
It was the first time Nunes failed to deliver a quick finish but her multiple takedowns were enough to secure a unanimous decision.
Nunes has defended her bantamweight title for the fifth straight time and has cemented her status as the greatest female fighter of all-time.
Check out some of the highlights from the fight below:
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Amanda Nunes and Germaine de Randamie)