Amanda Nunes Has Sensationally Run Through Cris Cyborg to Claim the UFC Women’s Featherweight Title…
Wow. There are not enough superlatives to describe just how dramatic and incredible that was. Amanda Nunes demolished Cris Cyborg in the first round of their UFC 232 co-main event. The battle of the promotion’s two Brazilian female champions shocked the world as ‘The Lionness’ destroyed the most feared woman in combat sports.
Cyborg came into this one as the overwhelming favourite. It’s no surprise considering she’s brutalized every woman who has stood in front of her, with her lone previous defeat coming way back in 2005 in her MMA debut. This was her 22nd professional MMA fight, and many people were questioning who would be left to fight after she beat Nunes.
Nunes hadn’t read the script. She has ended the careers of Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey, beaten Holly Holm and been equal to Valentina Shevchenko. After adding Cyborg to her list of scalps, she is arguably the greatest female fighter in the history of MMA and the first female double champion in the UFC.
OH MY GOD AMANDA NUNES!!!!!!!#UFC232 pic.twitter.com/EzyAhUYeSR
— UFC (@ufc) December 30, 2018
First Round KO
All it took was 51 seconds. The two women came out hard, throwing heavy punches. Much was made of Cyborg’s physicality before this one, because none of her previous MMA opponents has been able to cope with her strength and size. Nunes had no such problems.
The bantamweight champion actually weighed in a pound heavier than Cyborg but was noticeably smaller in the cage. She used her speed to ferocious effect landing crisp strike after strike on a shocked Cyborg’s face. The featherweight champ tried to swing back, but her strikes were slow and ponderous in comparison.
THE BADDEST WOMAN ON THE PLANET!!!@Amanda_Leoa #UFC232 pic.twitter.com/miyNd7xBwb
— UFC (@ufc) December 30, 2018
Respect
Cyborg paid the price for showing a lack of respect to Nunes’s power. We’ve seen ‘The Lioness’ blaze forward in the past, putting an end to the likes of Ronda Rousey. That kind of forward pressure and knockout power is rare in the women’s game, and when you’re wearing 4oz gloves, you just can’t take them.
Nunes just overwhelmed Cyborg in a way we’ve never seen before. As she swarmed the bigger woman, she dropped her and Marc Goddard had no choice but to intervene. ‘The Lioness’ then tore away and dropped to the floor as the sheer enormity of her achievement became clear. She had just KOed Cris Cyborg. Cris bloody Cyborg.
The first female Champ Champ!!#UFC232 @Amanda_Leoa pic.twitter.com/GEYAOU1LwR
— UFC (@ufc) December 30, 2018
Backing
The UFC will surely have to get behind Nunes now. She’s a genuinely exciting fighter to watch and a proud ambassador for the LGBTQ+ community. With the level of carnage she leaves behind her and the fact that she speaks English fluently – rare for many Brazilian fighters, she surely needs to get a promotional push as she becomes the P4P No.1 fighter in women’s MMA.
Cyborg finds herself in limbo. Will the hunger still be there to compete in the UFC? She’ll get a rematch if she asks for one, but she’s made no secret of the fact that she’s interested in a boxing match with Cecilia Braekhus. Right now that doesn’t matter though. This is Nunes’s moment.
