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#4 Cyborg has the stamina advantage
Nunes’ last loss came to Cat Zingano in 2014, and while it was a genuine Fight of the Year Candidate, it was also a strange loss in that Nunes took the first round with an arguable 10-8 score before losing the fight. It was a great victory for Zingano that showed a tremendous amount of heart and determination, but it was also notable for showing Nunes’ stamina issues.
Following that loss, Nunes picked up two quick wins over Shayna Baszler and Sara McMann, but her stamina issues were once again on display in her fight with Valentina Shevchenko, as she almost gave the fight away after tiring out in the third round. Since then, the talk is that her stamina issues have been resolved, as she’s won two five-round fights over Shevchenko in a rematch and Raquel Pennington.
However, what changed most notably in those two fights was the output of ‘The Lioness’. Nunes didn’t come out pushing hard for a finish as she had in her previous first round wins, and while this allowed her not to tire out, it also meant she didn’t put together nearly as much offense as she’d done in previous fights.
Against Cyborg – who casually went 5 rounds with Holly Holm and didn’t appear at all tired – that could prove to be a major problem. Cyborg’s offensive output certainly won’t slow down, and Nunes simply won’t be able to take moments of the fight off as she did against the more passive Shevchenko or the overmatched Pennington. If this goes into the later rounds, then its almost definitely going to favour Cyborg.
