Amanda Nunes credits loss for reigniting her fire

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Amanda Nunes credits loss for reigniting her fire

Sitting at the top of the game, Amanda Nunes was essentially on cruise control, defeating the top women across the sport of mixed martial arts. But then Julianna Peña upset her in one of the more surprising upsets in recent memory.

Peña may have been on top of the world following that victory, which caused Nunes to consider walking away, but it only served to re-awaken the Lioness inside of Nunes.

Why Amanda Nunes opted not to retire

Heading into her UFC 289 headlining bantamweight title defense opposite Irene Aldana, Nunes spoke with UFC commentator Jon Anik. She recounted her loss to Peña, her decision to backtrack on retirement, and the renewed vigor with which she approaches the remainder of her career.

Following her UFC 269 loss to Peña, Nunes told her longtime coach and friend Din Thomas, “I think I’m done.” Lucky for her, he told Nunes to take time to think about it and call him later.

She did and the result wasn’t simply that she wouldn’t retire. In fact, Nunes says she couldn’t retire knowing that Peña had the belt. She also found a way to reinvigorate a career that had put her into too much of a comfort zone.

“I cannot leave my belt with Julianna. And can be somebody else, but (not) her,” Nunes recounted. “She does not deserve that belt.”

Surprisingly, that didn’t just lead Nunes to continuing her career, but to also shaking up her training. Having spent eight years with American Top Team, Nunes realized that she was too comfortable. She needed to find the hunger that drove her to becoming the UFC’s first female dual-division titleholder.

Nunes left American Top Team, creating her own training camp

Nunes talked to her supporters at American Top Team and struck out on her own, not because ATT wasn’t good for her, but because she needed a new challenge, a new way to put herself back on the hunt.

“Nothing was wrong (at ATT), I just want to move on, to see what is there on my own,” Nunes explained.

“We did it together, but something in my heart, in my mind, tell me it’s time to move on. That was the right time to move on. I got back home and put everything together. I was out of my comfort zone. This is how I want to be. I want to be threat; I want to be dangerous.”

After having won the UFC bantamweight and featherweight belts, defending both several times, she felt too comfortable. She did that with someone else’s team, now it’s time to put it all on the line and see what she can build on her own.

Of course, she’s built a team of support. No fighter does this alone, but now it’s in her purview to make it all come together. And it appears to have worked, as Nunes was in her own camp ahead of recapturing the bantamweight belt from Peña last year at UFC 277.

She’s now in her second camp since leaving ATT, heading into the showdown with Aldana at UFC 289 on June 10 in Vancouver, British Columbia. And by her accounts, it’s going well.

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Watch Amanda Nunes recapture gold from Julianna Peña 👊 UFC Fight Video
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Amanda Nunes extensive UFC 289 interview

(Courtesy of ESPN MMA)

Amanda Nunes credits loss for reigniting her fire