Will Amanda Nunes’ historic title run come to an end at UFC 245?
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Amanda ”The Lioness” Nunes is the best women’s MMA fighter ever.
She has beaten, okay she has finished, Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm. Nunes has not lost a fight since September 2014, racking up a 12-1 record in the UFC and currently holds both the women’s bantamweight and featherweight titles.
She is due to defend the bantamweight belt at UFC 245 against Germaine de Randamie.
Most MMA fans want to know is Amanda Nunes beatable?
Looking at her “overall” record, she only has 4 losses. 2 of the losses came via KO, 1 came via submission and lastly 1 loss by decision. Dissecting her record could give you the idea that she may be susceptible to losing to a good wrestler/grappler, but that isn’t true either, as she has 3 submission wins.
Some fans feel her toughest fights to date has been both fights vs. Valentina Shevchenko, the current women’s flyweight champion. Both fights went to the judges scorecard with Amanda winning the first fight by unanimous decision and the second via split decision. Valentina used her striking as well and a well-timed grappling attack to keep Amanda off balance. We also have to keep in mind that Valentina, a natural flyweight, was fighting a naturally bigger opponent in Nunes.
Nunes’ only loss in the UFC came via KO to Cat Zingano. Zingano showed great heart in that fight, Nunes almost finished Zingano in the first round, some fans and even the announce team felt that the fight should’ve been stopped. Zingano finished Nunes in the third round after she was able to survive the early onslaught, and used her superb grappling to mount the exhausted Nunes.
During the fight, Nunes’ cardio was in question as she seemed to gas out midway through the second round. We really don’t know if her cardio issues are still a problem as she has won 8 of her 12 UFC fights in the first round.
UFC 245: The Next Chapter
Her upcoming opponent, Germaine de Randamie, has proved in her latest run that she has grown vastly as a martial artist. Nunes defeated de Randamie in 2013 in dominant fashion via first round TKO. De Randamie’s striking skill has caused her to rise to the pinnacle of combat sports, along with her improved grappling skills, may result in a different outcome when the two fight on December 14.
Some will disagree with this, but I think Germaine should make this a slug fest. This type of fight would be in her comfort zone and there are very few women capable of exchanging blows with Nunes.
Beating Nunes is not an easy task, any opponent looking to pull the upset would want to look at how Valentina fought Nunes and take notes. The opponent would also need to survive the first round to put her cardio to the test. Although Nunes has a few submission wins, I think a grappling match could be a benefit as grappling led to her KO loss to Zingano.
The most important thing a fighter can do stepping in the cage with Nunes, is have a solid game plan and be able to adjust such game plan during the fight like Zingano and Valentina were able to do.
The Lioness has beaten some of the best fighters in women’s MMA history during her current run, but as fight fans we all know on any given night anything can happen.
Somebody eventually could end this historic run by Amanda Nunes.
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The Scrap’s Lee Brown is a 22-year Air Force Vet, fan of all sports – especially UFC, NFL & NBA, and cohost of Lee N Keys Real Talk Podcast. You can follow Lee on Twitter (@Levanstian757) and Instagram (@Va121Lee).
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