UFC women’s featherweight and bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes says she needs more time to prepare and as such likely won’t be able to compete at May’s UFC 237.
Nunes was speaking to Brazilian outlet Combate about the possibility of her being added to a card that already features compatriots Jessica Andrade and Anderson Silva, and Nunes said it doesn’t exactly fit in her timescale.
“It will be tough,” Nunes said. “I’m thinking about fighting in the end of the year, around November or December. I’m in Brazil now, taking care of family things, wouldn’t have time to get prepared for May.”
It had seemed the UFC were looking to put Nunes up against Holly Holm on the card, particularly in light of Holm’s fight with Aspen Ladd at UFC 235 being scrapped. But while Nunes wants to defend her 135-pound championship next, and Holm represents the highest profile woman she’s yet to defeat, the turnaround off the back of Nunes’ December win over Cyborg is too much to ask.
“I want to defend my (bantamweight) belt first because when I moved up I left the division stalled,” Nunes said. “I think it makes sense that the next fight is against Holly Holm, the only ex-champion I haven’t faced. After, I think it would be cool to rematch Cyborg. And then I’ll stop.
“I don’t know how many fights I have left, after the next one we’ll renegotiate. I think I have to do two more and retire. And if I have the itch to come back, I will.”
