Amanda Nunes Fires Back At Critics Claiming She’s Scared Of Shevchenko
Amanda Nunes holds no fear in her heart towards Valentina Shevchenko, or any woman for that matter, regardless of what some fans may think.
The UFC 135-pound women’s champ defeated Shevchenko via unanimous decision back in March of 2016. That win earned her a shot at then-UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, who she went on to defeat for her first career UFC title via first round submission. Her first title defense came in the form of the biggest fight of her career, when she took on ex-MMA mega-star Ronda Rousey in the main event of UFC 207.
Nunes made quick work of “The Rowdy One,” downing her via knockout in just 48 seconds of the first round. She was originally scheduled to make her next title defense against Shevchenko, who has won back-to-back fights against Holly Holm and Julianna Pena since her loss to Nunes, at UFC 213 this past July. Unfortunately, Nunes did not feel fit to compete due to a sinus issue and pulled out of the fight despite being medically cleared to compete. This sparked speculation amongst fans that “The Lioness” is fearful of going up against “The Bullet” once again, who has improved significantly since their last outing.
The women’s bantamweight champ got the opportunity to respond to these claims at a recent media scrum in Las Vegas, saying it makes no sense that she couldn’t be mentally ready for a fight after a decade of experience in the sport (quotes via MMA Junkie):
“(I’m) 10 years into my career, and right now I’m not going to fight because (I’m) mentally (not ready)?” Nunes said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Shevchenko and Nunes are now rescheduled to meet on pay-per-view (PPV) at UFC 215 from the Rogers Place arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on September 9, 2017. It will be main evented by a flyweight title bout between champion Demetrious Johnson who defends against Ray Borg.
Some fans fear that Nunes could use her sinus infection to get out of fighting Shevchenko yet again, however, the Brazilian champ claims that she only has a few more days of medication left and is working with a specialist. Come fight night early next month, she should be right back at 100 percent:
“I’m still on the medicine for a couple more days, and a specialist is with me now,” she said. “Everything I need, he’s going to help me get it. I’m 100 percent, for sure.”
In the end, Nunes doubled down on her confidence to get the job done against Shevchenko once again, pointing to her first meeting with the Peruvian as her key example:
“I fought her already,” Nunes said. “I know her style. We know the things we have to get better at, the holes in her game, and we’re working on that.”
