Amanda Nunes vacated both the bantamweight and featherweight titles when she retired last year, but after watching Raquel Pennington become the new 135lb champ at UFC 297 this past weekend it seems she’s not ready to completely rule out the idea of making a comeback at some stage.
“I was nervous [watching the title fight],” Nunes said on the UFC 297 post-fight show. “I don’t know why, but I was very nervous. It was mixed feelings. I was happy and sad. When I saw ‘Rocky’ with the belt, I was OK. I wasn’t upset or anything like that.
“I think I did the right decision retiring, resting a little bit. Taking care of the babies. Can’t leave Nina [Nunes] with two babies by herself. So I’ve been enjoying it, too. My whole life was fighting related, so I was not really able to enjoy my 20s. My 20s passed like that. I’m 35 now, and now I’m able to go back to Brazil, stay a little bit with my friends and family, and enjoy and see what happens.”
Nunes domination of the bantamweight division during her time in the UFC included a one-sided beatdown of Pennington back in 2018, and reading between the lines it sounds like ‘The Lioness’ may still have some desire to reclaim what was once hers.
“I don’t know — we never know. I’m a fighter and this is my job,” Nunes said. “I love this so much, and I don’t know. I enjoy as well not being in the gym everyday and having a normal life, stay home a little bit and be lazy. I [can’t be] lazy as a fighter, it’s very hard.
“But I’m still healthy and powerful, smart, think like a champion. I still feel like a champion, so we’ll see.”
