Amanda Nunes prepares for UFC title defense while parenthood awaits
LAS VEGAS – Amanda Nunes has a laundry list of items on her mind yet a singular focus to tick off all of them. They’re not exactly minor things either. It’s all big, serious, life-changing stuff. Like getting married, becoming a mother, reaching financial security.
And, first of all this weekend, defending her Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title to further establish as one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts.
Nunes headlines UFC 213 against Valentina Shevchenko on Saturday a year after winning the title against Miesha Tate and six months after crushing Ronda Rousey with a spectacular 48-second stoppage triumph.
In that time she has become one of the sport’s most intriguing personalities and a welcome antidote to the sometimes crude and boorish methods so many fighters use to promote themselves. The thoughtful approach that the Brazilian and her partner, fellow UFC women’s fighter Nina Ansaroff, have taken to their planned future as parents is a prime example.
“Yes,” Nunes smiled when quizzed on the topic at a recent media event in Los Angeles. “Having a baby and bringing the baby into your life and filling it with love is a special thing. It is something we want.”
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The timing of Nunes becoming a mother depends upon results in the octagon, but not her own. When the pair decide to try in earnest, they will use a sperm donor, and Ansaroff would carry the child.
It might have happened already, but for Ansaroff’s victory over Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger in the strawweight division back in January.
“Actually this year I was supposed to have the kid,” Ansaroff said. “That’s what we planned. It was depending on my last fight. But I won. I’ve got a run (going). I’m going to take that run and go and be realistic. We want to get married and have kids, but in the right time period.”
Nunes was little-known before her win over Tate but that upset in the main event of the company’s signature UFC 200 card propelled her into the spotlight as the first openly gay UFC champion in history. The Rousey display pushed her further into the mainstream, and her face adorns billboards up and down the Strip this week.
“It’s been amazing,” Nunes said. “My dreams have come true. I’m ready to fight. I’m ready. I have to prove it. I will. I’m going for the finish.”
Nunes fought Shevchenko at UFC 196 in March 2016 and defeated her in a hard-fought three-round points decision. Neither has lost since. Indeed, that fight was Shevchenko’s only defeat since 2010 and the Kyrgyzstan-born, Peru-based martial artist with a fascinatingly diverse history is expected to provide a ferocious challenge.
Shevchenko believes that the longer format for title fights, five rounds instead of three, could help her. Nunes has explosive power but her stamina has been questioned in the past.
A Nunes win would give a degree of permanence to the bantamweight division, which saw the belt passed around from Rousey, to Holly Holm, to Miesha Tate, and then the Brazilian in the space of eight months.
“She’s good for the sport, good for the fans and a great role model – a normal person,” Ansaroff said.
“She’s not a blonde. She doesn’t wear dresses. But she has an even cooler story. She’s humble, came from simple beginnings and I think she’s a great champion.”