Amanda Nunes speaks with members of the media following her victory and retirement announcement at UFC 289: Nunes vs …
foreign congratulations on a win and a amazing career um how long in advance did you know that tonight was going to be your final MMA fight and you’re going to walk away after the fact when I signed the contract for this fight I tried to hide for you guys the whole week but like you guys look like always was on top of but like I just I just don’t want to focus on that you know focusing my fight you know because I don’t want to keep talking about the retirements all the time so and I still talking imagine if I say like yeah I’m gonna retire I would like would it be all about that so yeah I knew the whole time okay and obviously it was a very dominant performance I’m curious you came in on crutches what injuries did you sustain heavy nervous damage them in my in my leg already supposed to kick anymore because you know I always gonna get hurt I keep in training I kick in the fight so my hope are really imagining my leg is just like don’t can take anymore and this is my one of my best weapon you know and take it away from me and every time in the fight I always get hurt always so but I’m glad that I got the win tonight yeah it was a completely dominant performance uh what how’d it go relative to how you expected did you think she was gonna have more to offer you in there at all you know when exactly how how I always picture in my mind you know and um I did what I supposed to do I really want to mix everything which is exactly what I did my me my coach we will work on that you know I know her body is very weak too I always exploited just my first shot was in her body I know that would change the whole game plan of hers and when I landed the first front Kiki I knew like she was like all right now I have to do something else but she don’t have anything in life just her boxing but when I started like mix it up her body in her head they take those and everything else she really always be able to do anything and I know when I switched couple times she would get lost because she thought I’m gonna strike more in the South Park and I went right away to my natural side because I know it’s gonna confuse her in her her quotes and I always hear him the whole time tell her things and make she even make more mistake you know to throw more throw throw he always tell her to throw throw like move forward and throw that is my best shot when you chasing me you know it’s gonna be up your whole body against my my shot that make even stronger but like she landed a couple good ones too you know give her that credit but like I saw they was a little confusing about the whole her the whole strategy of her to face me tonight how do you want people to remember you in the sport I mean people throw around words like you know goat all that kind of stuff but in your own words how do you want to be remembered now the grades of all time you know I did everything you know I break a lot of Records tonight I tie with it’s amazing so I’m very happy about that do you want to be around the sport I know like being here talking to us isn’t maybe your favorite doing this but like are you excited to be off the radar and you know out of the picture or do you want to still be involved in MMA I love this boy you know uh definitely I have my gym you know so I have a couple girls there and I love you to to help them to to be able to see as well I have a lot to offer you know it’s a double jump I know a lot so in my coach too we have we will a team you know we work together and I’d be able to make a girl jump into if if I really work with it with one girl I can make her a champion so I know everything about this game mental and be good at it do strategy so me and my team we really know do those things so we really gonna make a strong team in the future but right now I’m gonna take break I’m gonna go see my family in Brazil and enjoy a little bit too my formula home Nina Nina is pregnant too she need a little break she’s like she always have a harder time attack today in the in the hotel she’s like you cannot do this anymore I don’t know if because I’m pregnant or something but like this is killing me and is she like always done too she already retired you know imagine is she like in my Camp too she she retired but at the same time no you know she always there for me and I say like Nina like make everything easy for for in my career I should make everything easy for me you know she really prepared everything she like talked to everybody she like wanna I really like Chase the Dream you know train and be good at it and this is this is what I’m making me good to have a partner like that imagine even like we have a baby home she’s like no I I take it Go sleepy and I handle Reagan don’t worry so we we like I have achievement man like a home at the gym so we now adding Maggie too Champion I brought her to this game I know she’s gonna help me a lot you know and she did it my Jiu Jitsu is so like Thai and everything and I guess you want to go there and then mix it up everything and do a little bit of everything take down yujitsu and then strike so with exactly what I what I did tonight and just last thing for me um the two belts sitting in front of you are going to become vacant now how do you want the UFC to proceed Dana was in here he hinted that the featherweight division might just go away entirely now uh who do you want to see fighting for that bantamweight title next honestly I want be there to watch you know for me right now it’s like I don’t really care you know I beat all of them so there’s nothing left you know if anybody can get it this belt now it’s like it’s just too heavy because I did everything GC Vision juicy Visions like gone all of them so I’m breaking researching and I beat all the girls out there you know all the best girls so I guess you wouldn’t watch you know for outside now what is gonna happen then yeah I’m gonna be there for sure and then just to follow up on that um were you at all disappointed that the UFC didn’t do more to build the featherweight division to bring in more names now that it seems it may go away unless you know UFC they know what they do you know it’s like if he’s if he’s not going where the division what I’m gonna do you know I’m like if he if he I didn’t retire tonight if they have a girlfriend you know I would face her but like whatever they want to do we actually know what they do you know that’s why UFC is the best company you know so well we’ll see congratulations thank you Amanda obviously I’m sure you know excuse me you feel good about retiring now but I’m sure it’s going to be weird for you seeing other women with your belt you know if you go and watch the next fight then they’re the champion do you think there’s any chance that maybe 12 months two years you’ll be like ah actually that is still my belt and I want it back yeah I know I’m gonna my belts a home with me that is gonna be the fake one you know so it’s gonna be fake forever you know so who get it about now is gonna be just like pretend to have you know so yeah I’m gone I’m like I’m I’m good you know I did everything I’m y’all well all taken care of in my life thank you FC they really like take care of me and they always gonna take care of me you know so I’m gonna be around here if I don’t do anything with them I’m still gonna like go up and down he just to be around because a lot of Jesus Sports so much so much and I did everything to be the backside you know and and I prove it tonight I retire with my two belts that I I told you guys I’m gonna retire if you guys go back see my whole interview you see and then I know you know and I wanted to do this I wanted to be in this in this uh Ward you know I I always gonna be here maybe a coaching maybe in people’s corner I’m like I I want to make a championship you know I want to be able to be there to see another person succeed this may surprise you but Juliana Pena is quite angry that you retired I mean you know she’s supposed to be super I’m supposed to be to her tonight again you know what I mean she always don’t want to know how to train him break it they really what I’m gonna do about it if you had beaten her the first time would you have retired then was it no I know if boys Juliana Payne tonight I know retire because I want to fight somebody that I never fight before to retire you know tonight I would be the night I would beat Juliana and then fight out Donna or whatever and they retire how do you think uh well Dana was in here and he said Juliana will probably be involved in the vacant title fight like it’ll be her against someone how do you think do you think she’ll be have to go you know the the visual have to to to move on but I think aldana is gonna be a good one in the future you know I think she’s gonna come back strong and she might get it about you know oh we’ll see yeah it’s gonna be good to see right you know now I’m retired it’s gonna be good for me too to see how the division is gonna play out I’m very excited for the division you know I did everything I break all the records and now I want to see from outside you know see how the girls is gonna do it and and be happy forever Amanda um do you think Julianna Pena will ever be Champion again no I don’t think so I don’t think so all done I think Alden I can beat her you know and yeah I feel like she got luck man that in that fight against me you know she know I’m always ready but I’ve proven that in the second fight and then I don’t think she’s gonna be a champion I don’t think at all she’s not ready though she’s now ready to be a champion and I know this is fresh but looking back on your careers there one moment that really stands out you know obviously defeating Ronda Rousey to win the belt um sort of looking back what’s maybe uh you know career highlight that is at the top of the list for you honestly I have so many so many highlights like they kick against until they fight against Ronda Rousey the cyborg fight so what is so mean tonight was amazing you know so so many I’m just like very happy and grateful you know everything’s in the exactly how I want um Amanda one here to your left you sort of challenged your fellow Brazilian fighters to step up get their stuff together and capture a world title in your absence is there anyone who you sort of see uh as being on the precipice of becoming a world champion from Brazil I see Charles come back he should wrong and they might you know get it about and yeah who else we have a lot we have chances you know I’m excited to see and I’m probably gonna be there to see them too so we have we have a lot of like talents that’s up come to so I’m very excited and what is it about Brazil and the Brazilian people that makes you want to see that continued success now that you’ve retired pretty much start everything so we always want to see the Brazilian here you know and yeah I feel like it’s good to have a Brazil you know we we put it so much too I feel like it would be good to see a resilient about so I can’t wait to see thank you and congratulations thank you Amanda you hung around in the cage for a bit after the fight was over and you’re dancing uh what was that moment like for you knowing that that was your final time in there as a champion amazing the memory is with Reagan with my family with my coach my friends uh it’s just amazing when I was thinking a lot of things in my mind you know go through always go back all the way to Brazil and then see where I come from or they step in the way the change that I have to make my whole career to be able to succeed and ah man this is actually like a very amazing a moment and yeah like I’m I’m still like you know I’m in shock with everything and I still grow you know as a fighter you know I’m like if I don’t retire today like like clean all over again because I still grow as a fighting and I grow with MMA you know I grow with MMA I always think how am I gonna show up I dream about it I put him in the paper I go with Nina sometimes we watch TV something come up in my mind like you know staying in front of me I like I’m gonna do this I think this is gonna work so my my always I always think about succeed my mind is like that you know so and when I when I think in my next opponent my mind already like just walks so much even when I sleep I walk this is one of the things that I need rest to you know because I never sleepy like food sleeping almost seven years with this belt imagine you know I never would have like a bell a full night to sleep without think about anything or my opponents or whatever so I I need a break but man I have a lot to offer still you know I still growing so much and if if I go to the gym now I still like think about it I want to see how that is gonna play out without you know retiring they don’t think about fighting anything but I still grow in the gym I don’t know how it’s gonna happen you know he’s gonna have a heart attack is there anything that could get you back in the cage man I think so no I don’t think so I think my is going to be there for all the people you know to help uh I like I did so much you know to my body and everything I just don’t want to lose weight anymore ah this whole hurts so bad and been doing this for so long and then losing so much weight like my body I feel like need a really good rest you know and I’m 35 now I can really enjoy my life I live in Brazil I was so young in my 20s I didn’t enjoy my train I enjoy because I chose you to do this you know this is not always a sacrifice for me I chose to do this I love it what I do so I K I came from Brazil I was happy you know I was doing I know I’m gonna I’m gonna get it about I know everything always prepare everything I just I chose to be here tonight you know I leave my family behind that that no voice like a sacrifice at all for me because I chose and and now you might 35 now I’m gonna enjoy what I did indeed enjoy my twin is because I put it everything everything should become who I am today so I I’m just gonna enjoy my life now congrats and enjoy thank you Amanda just one quick one to follow up if you could go back and tell that 20 year old you who’s leaving Brazil anything you know what would you tell her you make the right decision girl good job and yeah I am so proud of you you make that decision so young you know and also uh back then believe in my talents too was like you want to go to America he was living here already and everything and it helped me to come here I remember when I step in this country in New Jersey so when this fight it’s supposed to be in New Jersey I was so happy because where’s the place did I step for the first time in America with 20 in my pocket and everybody that was so happy because my I have a couple friends there and everybody like I can’t believe you’re gonna fight he like you came and I remember in the gym they make a little box for everybody in the gym and putting money to help me to eat and everything and everybody like all these students in the gym used to walk and then put it like a couple dollars for me and at the end of the day I used to grab this box and have money to eat do whatever so it’s a lot of a lot of things went through when I retired tonight you know because when I came here I have all these moments at the gym and she said and then I moved to to Miami right after you know I make another like movie to be able to keep it like growing this sport I went to MMA Masters training with Cesar Daniel and he stayed there for a little bit and I learned so much from them Daniel giving my black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and they really really believe it too with me and then one point in my life I have to move to went to America top team and then when they start everything you know this journey I’m so so happy to be able to to go in this path you know be able to make those movement those move in my life and then uh come together pretty well I’m so grave to have everybody you know that’s helped me to become who I am today so and now I have my studio did I make another another step in my life to decide doing my own you know when I lost the belt if I have to start in the zero again now he’s gonna I’m gonna go in my own I’m gonna go I’m gonna grab people that I that I trained before you know and the other couple people and when I lock that door it’s gonna be only people that I really wanna get inside this gym you know and every time that I walk in my gym I call it as a sanctuary because I have everything all the poison that I make history in the UFC is all in the wall that makes me so powerful when I walk in that thing that’s unbelievable for you have an idea when I walk in the gym I say good morning Studio when I walk out I say I see you tomorrow let’s do this so this is a place that I really make me strong every day that I walk in sometimes like go upstairs and they stay there and just just feel good you feel good to see everything that I make all my trophies is there and I rest it look all my accomplishment is making me even powerful all the time and say like I become I look if I want to remember anything I just look in the wall if I wanna you know so it’s just amazing that place really I make the right decision and having everybody with me all my coach that I have now a couple of friends that I have with me in that it’s like amazing thank you fantastic story congratulations thank you thank you guys