Last Saturday, after beating Irene Aldana at UFC 289, “The Lioness” Amanda Nunes retired, tossing her gloves and two belts onto the Octagon floor.
"And Still forever! Double champion for life!"@Amanda_Leoa calls it a career at #UFC289 pic.twitter.com/6kdifaFGhw
— UFC (@ufc) June 11, 2023
Truly, we will never see anyone like her again. So, in the spirit of honoring one of the GOATs, let’s revisit all Nunes has accomplished for sports bettors and MMA fans over her 10-year UFC career.
What You Could’ve Won on Nunes
| Result | Opponent | Odds | Unit Profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| W | Irene Aldana | -335 | 0.30 |
| W | Julianna Pena | -260 | 0.38 |
| L | Julianna Pena | -1125 | -1 |
| W | Megan Anderson | -775 | 0.13 |
| W | Felicia Spencer | -650 | 0.15 |
| W | Germaine de Randamie | -375 | 0.27 |
| W | Holly Holm | -400 | 0.25 |
| W | Cris Cyborg | +160 | 1.6 |
| W | Raquel Pennington | -700 | 0.14 |
| W | Valentina Schevchenko | +105 | 1.05 |
| W | Ronda Rousey | +150 | 1.5 |
| W | Miesha Tate | +230 | 2.3 |
| W | Valentina Schevchenko | -105 | 0.95 |
| W | Sara McMann | +250 | 2.5 |
| W | Shayna Baszler | -650 | 0.15 |
| L | Cat Zingano | +260 | -1 |
| W | Germaine de Randamie | +110 | 1.1 |
| W | Sheila Gaff | -225 | 0.44 |
If you bet $100 on all 18 of Nunes’ fights, you would’ve profited $1,212. That -1125 loss to Pena sure is ugly, but Nunes was otherwise as automatic as they make em’, especially earlier in her career when she still saw ‘dog status.
Granted, her 0.48-unit profitability since 2019 is underwhelming, but that’s a direct consequence of one fluky loss and an average line of -560 during that span. Rewind before 2019, when Nunes was an underdog in seven of 11 UFC matches, and you’ll see the profits rain in at +10.73 units. That’s when she became a star, regularly defying expectations and cracking her way to the top.
Amanda Nunes Greatest Moments
I almost feel bad limiting her career to three great moments, but, alas, we don’t have all day. And, as a bonus, Nunes cashed as an underdog in all three of these bouts.
Nunes crunches Cris Cyborg at UFC 232 (2018)
While the women’s featherweight division didn’t host many big moments, Nunes’ stunning one-minute knockout of Cyborg, at the time considered the scariest female fighter ever, still lingers as The Lioness’ greatest accomplishment.
Nunes took a shot on the chin early but kept advancing. Her nuclear right hand found the mark on multiple occasions, with her final blow sending Cyborg toppling to the canvas. That win awarded the Brazilian, already the bantamweight title holder, double-champ status.
The Lioness Mauls UFC O.G. Ronda Rousey At UFC 207 (2016)
This one just makes me sad. Nunes beats the brakes off Rousey for the entire fight, abusing her with a flurry of punches to the head. Once the ref waved this bout off, giving Nunes a standing TKO, I can only imagine the head-scratching from sports bettors who took Rousey as the -175 chalk. Bad call.
Nunes Head-kicks Holly Holm at UFC 239 (2019)
The chilling smile on Nunes’ face as she marches down Holm tells you everything you need to know about how this bout was going to play out. The champ got a few punches in before feinting and throwing a heavy right-high kick to knock Holm out. With this victory, Nunes officially defeated all former UFC women’s bantamweight champions. True GOAT stuff.
Where Does The Female GOAT rank among the greatest ever?
| Fighter | Division | Title Defenses |
|---|---|---|
| Demetrious Johnson | Flyweight | 11 |
| Jon Jones | Light Heavyweight | 11 |
| Anderson Silva | Middleweight | 10 |
| Georges St. Pierre | Welterweight | 9 |
| Amanda Nunes | Women's Bantamweight/Featherweight | 8 |
There’s a compelling case that Nunes is a top-five fighter of all time, regardless of gender or division. It’s tough to match up what The Lioness did compared to Jon Jones or Georges St. Pierre. That’s always been an impossibility in MMA.
At the very least, as I said before, Nunes is the best female MMA fighter ever (narrowly ahead of Valentina Shevchenko), but it’s hard to place her after that. In terms of combined title reigns, Nunes crafted a legacy that will likely never be touched in female combat sports.
Is she on my Mount Rushmore of the best UFC fighters ever? It’s close but probably not. Nunes gets her own category in women's MMA – and in that category, she’ll be the GOAT forever.
