White: Featherweight Division Retires With Nunes

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White “just told” his team to build a women’s featherweight division, despite signing Cris Justino way back in early 2016. Better late than never, I suppose, but then what was the point of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 28?

I guess Scott Coker was right.

Amanda Nunes, who also wears gold in the bantamweight division, stopped “Cyborg” at UFC 245 to capture the 145-pound strap. But now “Lioness” is flirting with retirement as she prepares to become a mother later this year, alongside partner and fellow UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff.

But the show must go on, right?

“Probably not,” White told the combat sports media (via MMA Fighting). “I literally just told the guys the other day to build that division. Start signing girls, let’s start building that division, and now my girl’s talking about retirement, so apparently we gotta get on the same page and figure this out.”

I guess now is a good time to mention that White said the same exact thing back in late 2016, and also claimed he didn’t need a major star like “Cyborg” to create a women’s featherweight division. No doubt this will come as depressing news to fighters like Megan Anderson and Felicia Spencer.

“I hope she doesn’t [retire],” White continued. “She’s one of my favorite people ever and coming off of the performance that she just put on. She looked incredible and put on an absolute clinic against one of the toughest women that I’ve ever seen in my life. After a performance like that, I would hate to think that she would want to retire, but if that’s true, and that’s where she’s at right now, then she probably should.”

My, how times have changed.