Amanda Nunes Blasts the UFC For Not Promoting Her Like Ronda Rousey or Holly Holm
Amanda Nunes has a bone to pick with the UFC.
With two title defenses on her resume already, the reigning women’s bantamweight champion is lashing out at the UFC for a lack of promotion not only for her recent fights but also in general when it comes to pushing her out in the public spotlight.
Nunes, who dismantled Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey in consecutive bouts last year, most recently defeated Valentina Shevchenko in a razor-close decision in September after being forced out of their originally scheduled fight in July due to illness.
UFC president Dana White spoke out about Nunes being unwilling to fight in July and then even said that she wouldn’t main event her next card at UFC 216 but that changed rather quickly when Ray Borg dropped off the event,, cancelling his fight with flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
Now Nunes is speaking out against her employers, who she believes are holding a grudge against her in part because she doesn’t look the part like former champions such as Rousey or Holly Holm.
“There’s a point where, sometimes, I’d rather wait a bit and get a fight that sells,” Nunes said when speaking to FloCombat. “It’s all about pay-per-view, everything revolves around that and I don’t really get a part of that. I don’t really fit the profile of a UFC champion, but they have to do [business] with me, even though they’re never going to promote me to a level like they did Ronda Rousey or Holly Holm.
“They want blondies, cute little girls who fight and take pictures. Let’s face it, I have to face the girls who sell best.”
Nunes hasn’t booked her next fight, although she was briefly attached to a rumored bout against top five ranked contender Raquel Pennington for December until she suffered a broken leg in a vehicle accident while on a hunting trip at home in Colorado.
Since that time, Nunes has been left without any word about when she might fight next or who could be a potential opponent.
Amongst Nunes’ arguments against the UFC, she claims that the promotion not only doesn’t want to promote her as champion but she believes they’d prefer if she lost and a new bantamweight queen was crowned.
“They’re not idiots, they know what they do,” Nunes said. “It’s all about marketing. That’s why it’s the UFC, that’s why they’re doing it. They want to get someone to beat me for me to get out badly. I told them about it, I know that’s what they want, someone that they can really promote and make money with.”
For her part, Nunes promises that she’s not going to change who she is to appease anybody no matter how much or how little the UFC decides to promote her next fight.
She’s just going to continue beating the best fighters in the world as the reigning women’s bantamweight champion, whether the UFC likes it or not.
“Every athlete depends on the money they make [with their sport],” Nunes said. “Obviously, I want to make money. Having the belt is a dream come true, but ultimately, you’ve got to have something in your bank account to be able to do your thing. It’s a good thing, but without the necessary publicity and marketing, things like sponsorships are difficult to get.
“The UFC only shows the good moments of some people and only the bad ones of others, which is the case with me, and every fight I have, it’s like this.”
