In the spirit of revisiting debut fights with current top stars in the UFC, the company takes a look back at Women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight Champion Amanda Nunes.
Prior to being the first woman to win two titles, the 31-year-old was a virtual unknown when she made her debut back in 2013. Coming in, Nunes had a solid record for a fighter as she defeated future big names such as Vanessa Porto (former Invicta FC Flyweight World Champion) and Julia Budd (former Bellator Women's Featherweight World Champion) during her time with Strikeforce and Invicta FC.
However, in a division filled with names such as Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, Nunes didn’t exactly stand out from the crowd and it didn’t help that she came off a loss to Sarah D'Alelio at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt.
The Brazil native would actually exceed many expectations by defeating Miesha Tate for the Bantamweight Championship, and continued to defy odds by beating Ronda Rousey in the first round via knockout at UFC 207, along with a TKO victory over Cris Cyborg at UFC 232 for the women’s featherweight title.
Check out Amanda Nunes’ debut fight against Sheila Gaff at UFC 163 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: