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#2. Amanda Nunes has nothing left to prove
Naturally, it makes sense for a UFC fighter, particularly a champion like Amanda Nunes, to want to fight for as long as possible in order to cement their legacy.
For a young fighter with everything to prove, think someone like Khamzat Chimaev, then fighting as many times as possible against trickier opponents all of the time might seem attractive. However, for a proven champion like Amanda Nunes, things aren’t quite the same. Nunes was looking to fight tough opponents to climb the ladder back in 2013 when she first entered the UFC.
Now, of course, almost a decade later, those days are long gone. Nunes now has to stop those young and hungry fighters from knocking her off her perch and it probably goes without saying that it can’t be much fun to have to constantly do so.
What does Amanda Nunes really have to prove at this stage? She’s already widely recognized as the greatest female fighter in MMA history and has essentially beaten every other top fighter of her generation.
Sure, sticking around could see Nunes continue that legacy, but it’s a risk. As an older fighter, you can never tell when Father Time might come knocking, allowing a younger foe to pull off an upset.
The truth is that the 'Lioness’ simply doesn’t need to prove anything by fighting younger opponents. Her legacy is intact and the best way for her to cement that would be to walk away.
#1. Nobody is likely to match Amanda Nunes’ legacy anyway
One reason that might keep Amanda Nunes around the UFC, even if she beats Julianna Pena, could be the fear that another fighter could emerge and match or surpass her legacy as the greatest female fighter of all time. After all, nobody expected to see Matt Hughes supplanted as the UFC’s greatest-ever welterweight and yet Georges St-Pierre did just that before Hughes even retired.
Now, nearly a decade after GSP’s UFC welterweight title reign, UFC fans are discussing whether Kamaru Usman might be able to surpass the Canadian, something that would’ve seemed unthinkable a couple of years back. However, it’s highly unlikely that anyone is about to surpass Amanda Nunes’ legacy any time soon.
Not only is the 'Lioness’ one of just four UFC fighters to hold two titles in different weight classes simultaneously, but her record is unlike basically any other fighter in the history of the UFC.
It sounds insane, but Nunes has managed to defeat no fewer than six former or current UFC champions inside the octagon, with two of them, Germaine de Randamie and Valentina Shevchenko, coming up short against her twice.
While she does have four unavenged losses on her record, it’s probably fair to say that those fights came so long ago now that they can be forgotten. After all, the last woman to beat her, Cat Zingano, doesn’t fight in the UFC anymore.
Basically, the chance of any other female fighter matching her record and legacy is practically out of the question. So with such a legacy intact, she ought to consider walking away.
