After Amanda Nunes placed on one final sensational efficiency by dominating Irene Aldana at UFC 289, she exited the octagon for good. And one of many first folks she acknowledged with a kiss on the brow was Jon Anik, who was on the headset to name her last battle.
“Nicely, it meant the world to me,” Anik informed MMA Combating. “She and I are particularly shut, we each reside in South Florida. I used to be in a position to go to her new gymnasium, The Lioness Studio, the week earlier than the battle, I went to look at her practice, and as a substitute we ended up speaking for 2 and a half hours, and he or she didn’t even break a sweat. I felt fairly embedded together with her. However clearly that was a particular second for me.
“And you understand, I don’t say this softly, however I nearly really feel as if I can retire a contented man as a result of finally, what’s my initiative right here? I’m attempting to humanize these athletes, and I’m charged with offering the soundtrack to their skilled lives, one thing that their household and their pals may be happy with, particularly in these large moments of which Amanda had many. So it’s nearly affirmation or affirmation as to the job that we’re doing – not simply me however our total reside manufacturing group and our total workers.
“I believe her kissing me on the brow is sort of her thanking the workers at giant. She type of motioned me into the octagon, and I knew I couldn’t try this, so fortunately, we have been in a position to share a second. However finally, it’s about her.”
Nunes retired as bantamweight champion, a title she misplaced after which regained towards Julianna Peña. “The Lioness” subsequently had her method with Aldana over the 25-minute bout, however the MMA group wasn’t certain if she would name it a profession.
Whereas there have been rumblings, nothing appeared one hundred pc sure in Anik’s thoughts.
“She was fairly misleading over the last two weeks main as much as the battle as to her intentions,” Anik defined. “Even Roger Krahl informed us on the Anik & Florian Podcast, he solely discovered Wednesday of battle week that she was undoubtedly gonna retire when he overheard a dialog between her and Cesar Carneiro, her very long time and first-time MMA coach there in South Florida. So, a whirlwind of every week, and I’m simply actually comfortable for Amanda to have gone out, you understand, on the word word on which she needed to go,
“Now she has it inside her rights to mislead folks, proper? And positively she needed to maintain the give attention to this battle week and never have or not it’s about her retirement. Even Tom Brady didn’t need all of this pomp and circumstance on his method out, and as such, he didn’t get retirement items on each cease since you didn’t realize it was gonna be his last season. However because the battle week went on, it appeared like there have been some rumblings that she was going to retire.”
“So the ultimate locker room bump that I wrote in my lodge room the night time earlier than the battle, ‘All proper, developing subsequent from Vancouver, our last act. And may or not it’s the ultimate act within the adorned profession of Amanda Nunes?’ as a result of at that time limit I did have an inkling. However I’ll let you know, had she misplaced to Irene Aldana, she’d in all probability nonetheless be combating.”
The 35-year-old Nunes gained 16 of 18 octagon appearances and have become a two-division champion after knocking out Cris Cyborg at UFC 232 in December 2018 to seize the ladies’s featherweight title. She held at the least one UFC title for simply shy of six years,and gained the 135-pound title for the primary time when she stopped Miesha Tate at UFC 200 in July 2016. Different notable names on Nunes’ résumé embrace Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm and Valentina Shevchenko, whom she defeated on two separate events.
With MMA retirements, most of the time the door is rarely totally closed and locked. Whereas Anik won’t ever put a zero p.c quantity on something on the subject of this loopy sport, he feels with Nunes that it’s fairly darn shut.
“She walked away on the good time and it’s the best capstone, at the least proper now, in UFC historical past,” he mentioned.
“I might say 1 p.c likelihood [she fights again], and that 1 p.c could be if some 135-pounder that possibly is just not even on the roster proper now have been to emerge over the subsequent two years into this different worldly nice bantamweight, and abruptly, Amanda Nunes, the final word competitor needed to type of scratch that itch and are available again. I believe Nina Nunes, who proper now could be carrying their second baby of in all probability 4 that they’re gonna have, I believe she’s extra more likely to come again as a flyweight, and I believe she may be top-of-the-line flyweights on this planet.
“Folks don’t notice what a power Nina Nunes is when it comes to being the final supervisor for Crew Nunes, but additionally simply as a fighter in her personal proper, a really naturally gifted fighter and athlete herself. So I believe it’s extra probably that Nina comes again now, possibly Nina would put a fast finish to that dialog. However I might say one p.c likelihood Amanda Nunes comes again. I simply assume the chance would far outweigh the monetary or aggressive reward. The division goes to maneuver on, and there’s plenty of names, and there’s many instructions we will go.”
