Amanda Nunes

When you look at the list of opponents who have fallen to Amanda Nunes, it reads like a who’s who of the female fighting world this decade.

Nunes, the reigning UFC featherweight and bantamweight champion, will defend her bantamweight title against Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245 Saturday night. The bout is one of three championship matches set from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The 31-year-old Nunes has been with the UFC since 2013 and competing since 2008. But she has never been more respected or revered than she is right now.

All the way back in 2008, Nunes lost her mixed martial arts debut in just 35 seconds, falling victim to an armbar by Ana Maria India. She went on to win six in a row before a defeat at the hands of Alexis Davis.

Outside of a decision loss to Sarah D’Alelio and a third round TKO defeat by Cat Zingano, Nunes is perfect since 2013.

Amanda Nunes: Run To The Top Of The Charts

The Brazilian started her run with a TKO over Shayna Baszler in 2015, following that up by submitting Olympic wrestler Sara McMann. A win over current UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko set her up for the biggest fight of her life at UFC 200.

Nunes stepped in against Miesha Tate and dominated the champion, finishing her in the first round to win the title. Later that year, Nunes finished Ronda Rousey in 48 seconds, completing 2016 on top of the world.

But Nunes did not rest on her impressive performances.

At UFC 215, she battled Shevchenko once again, scoring a split decision to defend her title for the first time. She finished Raquel Pennington in a second title defense before becoming a two-division champion in 2018 at UFC 232.

Most figured Cris Cyborg was going to be the one to stop Nunes’ run. That was far from the case, as Nunes knocked her out in 51 seconds.

If anyone still needed assurance of her skills, she landed a perfectly-timed head-kick on Holly Holm this past July at UFC 239 to defend the bantamweight belt and earn a fourth “Performance of the Night” bonus in six fights.

So, when it is all said and done, and honestly, regardless of what happens vs. de Randamie, there is no doubting that Amanda Nunes will stand atop the women’s combat sports world as the greatest of all-time.

UFC 245: Usman Vs. Covington Fight Card

MAIN CARD (PPV/10 p.m. ET)

UFC Welterweight Championship
Kamaru Usman (c) vs. Colby Covington

UFC Featherweight Championship
Max Holloway (c) vs. Alexander Volkanovski

UFC Female Bantamweight Championship
Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Germaine de Randamie

Bantamweight: Marlon Moraes vs. Jose Aldo

Bantamweight: Petr Yan vs. Urijah Faber

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2/8 p.m. ET)

Welterweight: Geoff Neal vs. Mike Perry

Female Bantamweight: Ketlen Vieira vs. Irene Aldana

Middleweight: Ian Heinisch vs. Omari Akhmedov

Welterweight: Matt Brown vs. Ben Saunders

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+/6:15 p.m. ET)

Featherweight: Chase Hooper vs. Daniel Teymur

Flyweight: Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France

Female Flyweight: Jessica Eye vs. Viviane Araujo

Middleweight: Punahele Soriano vs. Oskar Piechota

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