Nunes happy to defend title vs. Pennington, Vieira before fighting Cyborg
Amanda Nunes was in fact interested in fighting Cris Cyborg, but that was before she had not one, but two worthy challengers to her bantamweight throne.
The UFC champion recently pursued a clash of titleholders with her featherweight counterpart, and while president Dana White has repeatedly voiced his desire to book the tantalizing tilt, Nunes is happy to continue defending the 135-pound crown for now - first against Raquel Pennington at UFC 224 on May 12 in Rio de Janeiro, then the surging Ketlen Vieira.
"When I texted Dana White that I wanted the fight, I didn't have nobody in my division," Nunes said Tuesday on the "UFC Unfiltered" podcast. "I didn't even know if I was gonna fight soon. I was concerned with waiting years because I've been in that position before, waiting so long for a fight, and I don't want to do it again. I don't want to stay waiting, waiting, waiting.
"But now, we have 'Rocky' (Pennington) and we have the Brazilian, Ketlen (Vieira) and I feel like my division is starting to grow. If you pay attention, the division's gonna be awesome and now I have two. I have Rocky and I have Ketlen. 'Rocky' is my next step and I want to see Ketlen after, for sure."
Pennington has won four straight, but hasn't fought since November 2016 and appeared to be in danger of losing her long-awaited title shot to the champ versus champ fight until the UFC confirmed otherwise recently. With Vieira emerging as a contender with a decision win over Cat Zingano - the purveyor of Nunes' last defeat - at UFC 222 earlier this month, things are looking up for the bantamweight title picture, and the champ is happy to share the cage with Vieira once she's squared off with Pennington.
"I think she's deserving, after this fight against 'Rocky.' She beat the girl that beat me. I think she's ready and I'm excited to fight her."
As for Cyborg - who'd previously expressed her reluctance to fight a fellow Brazilian - Nunes said her pursuit of the matchup was purely driven by competition, and remains open to meeting the featherweight queen in the Octagon down the line if both parties can sort through the proverbial red tape.
"There's a lot of things involved in that. Having the contract for her, for me, it has to make sense for both of us so we can do this. It's nothing personal against Cyborg. I know she's talked about ... because we're (both) Brazilian, we're not supposed to fight. When you become a professional fighter, you want to become the best, you want to beat the best.
"It's nothing personal against her, but I feel like there's a lot of things involved in that and I don't want to wait for that. I want to keep fighting, I don't want to wait to negotiate. Right now my division has a new contender and I'm excited for that. Whatever happens after that, we'll see."
- With h/t to MMA Fighting