Why Did Nunes Leave ATT?

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes lost her 135-pound title to longtime division contender Julianna Peña in the UFC 269 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event last December in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The bookie-busting upset snapped a 12-fight win streak for “Lioness” — who still holds the belt at 145 pounds — and prompted the Brazilian to part ways with American Top Team (ATT) in favor of her own “private” gym.

“You know like I said, after all this is done, I wanna be a coach,” Nunes told ESPN. “So, when I say I wanna open a gym, I didn’t say I’m gonna open a public gym. I wanna open a private space. If I have to start over, I wanna do some things the way I wanna do. So, it’s gonna be something that I wanna do as my private coach, that I really wanna be better for next rematch.”

Nunes will get a chance to cut her teeth as head coach when she suits up for Season 30 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) later this year. That’s where “Lioness” will lead a new cast of UFC hopefuls against Coach Pena and her squad of MMA up-and-comers.

“Every fighter one day wanna be a coach,” Nunes explained. “This is a perfect opportunity to start it now with a bunch of fighters, see how I do with them, to put my experience out there. They gonna share something with me too. So, so happy to share this stage with them and help them get their dream come true.”

TUF 30, featuring men’s heavyweights and women’s flyweights, debuts May 3 on ESPN+.