Could Amanda Nunes Come Back to MMA?

Amanda Nunes has hinted that she’s not finished with MMA. She says that she still feels like a champion and wouldn’t rule out a return to the cage, making MMA news sites and female fighters tremble in the process. How could she navigate a return? Straight back to the UFC? Or could another promotion tempt her?

Nunes Not Content to Sit Back

Amanda Nunes is still following the UFC action, as she spoke to the media after the Raquel Pennington against Mayra Bueno Silva fight at UFC 297, saying she still feels like a champion. After a relatively quiet fight, many fans will still consider Nunes to be a champ, too, as the Pennington-Silva bout didn’t do much to move the needle in the women’s bantamweight division.

Despite retiring in June 2023 and raising a family with her partner, Nunes is still seen regularly in the gym and often posts content on her Instagram, which displays her UFC championship belts and official ring gear. While her children are very young, given that she’s earned a lot of money from the UFC, she can probably afford the childcare cost if she wants to go back into the fight camp.

Does Nunes Go Back to the Top of the UFC?

If Amanda Nunes were to pick up the phone with Dana White tomorrow, the Brazilian would no doubt command a spot back at the top of the UFC. Any title shot she wanted, she could get, no questions asked, due to her stature and popularity within the UFC promotion.

At present, the UFC featherweight championship is in limbo as Dana White deactivated it when Nunes retired. Yet, if she were to come back to the promotion, then it could easily be revived. The bantamweight division and current champion, Raquel Pennington, would be put on high alert if Nunes wanted to return to that classification. The Brazilian would have no problem trying to become a three-time champ in a second fight with Pennington, a re-match from their encounter at UFC 224.

Nunes might just be covering old ground in those two divisions. While she might not want to cut weight so much, she has a unique opportunity to hold all of the female championships in the UFC if she were able to meet the weight requirements for the flyweight and/or the strawweight divisions. This would lead to some very interesting fights with the likes of Zhang Weili, Rose Namajunas, and even Alexa Grasso, all of which would send the MMA news sites into a frenzy.

Given her status in the UFC and success, she would re-enter the UFC divisions at the top end. She might entertain fighting other top contenders but would be looking for title shots straight away. If she were to return before June 2024, it would be less than a calendar year since she retired, so she could still command the top fighter status.

Could the PFL Attract Nunes?

While Amanda Nunes is known to be on good terms with Dana White and the UFC management, there’s a growing competitor in the form of the Professional Fighters League. Instead of Nunes cutting weight or returning to a division she’s already conquered in the UFC, she could try her hand at the Women’s Featherweight Championship in the PFL. There’s no doubt that she would be a welcome addition to the roster, setting up fights with competitors like Marina Mokhnatkina, Amber Leibrock, and Aspen Ladd. There would also be scope for a re-match between Nunes and Julia Budd, as the pair fought in their Strikeforce careers way back in 2011. The Brazilian won the bout in just 14 seconds; surely Budd would like another go at Nunes if she were to join the PFL.

The biggest fight that comes to mind if Nunes were to join the PFL is a Brazilian derby between her and two-weight champion Larissa Pacheco. While Pacheco struggled to adapt to the UFC, Nunes relished it. This would be a true coming together of featherweight royalty. This route to success might be a bit longer and drawn out than simply returning to her old place of work, but she would be able to show the wider MMA world that she would be able to dominate all promotions. This would rightly make her a contender as the MMA GOAT in the eyes of the MMA news websites.

Does she Need to Come Back?

So, does Amanda Nunes need to come back? Maybe she’s bored of life at home and watching others fight…but realistically, the UFC needs her more than she needs it. Nunes bowed out at the perfect time. Her career was on a stellar trajectory as she defeated Valentina Shevchenko, Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, and Holly Holm. She avenged her loss to Julianna Peña by winning back her featherweight title and bowed out at 23-5 with a lot of career highs and not that many lows.

The truth is that the UFC’s featherweight division lacks quality without Nunes. The fight between Pennington and Silva at UFC 297 exemplified that. Dana White should be actively trying to get Nunes back in his promotion. Nunes will already go down as a combat sports legend whether or not she ever fights again. She has little more to gain from rejoining the UFC, potentially a little more by linking up with the PFL – but quite a bit to lose. If she comes back and can’t win fights, and she keeps struggling, then her reputation and overall record could diminish. She’s not old by any means but as a fighter at the age of 35, who would begrudge her an early retirement?

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By Dean McHugh.