Jon Anik sits down with two-division champion Amanda Nunes shortly after the opponent change from a Julianna Peña trilogy …
I’m absolutely thrilled to be joined by the greatest of all time the two division UFC champion the future Hall of Famer the Lioness the cactus no the lion has Amanda Nunez great to see you how you doing thank you amaze you know ready to go I know you’re ready to go we still have a few weeks before the fight first of all I want to congratulate you and Nina I know Reagan’s in the building here but you have a second daughter on the way later this year yeah we plan everything so in our respect the Hazel you know the first week of November so we’re very excited another girl so it’s gonna be amazing so I would tell you two kids is actually easier than one that may sound crazy but because with two kids you know you’re not always the playmate right maybe you’re the referee at times but I think you guys are really going to enjoy that okay so we’re sitting down about 72 hours after the news broke the Juliana Pena broke her ribs and now in steps a Rene aldana this was your third successive training camp for Juliana Pena and I would imagine in some respect this is kind of refreshing and liberating even if it’s a different stylistic challenge to have a new matchup yeah I feel like it’s less heavy you know so um I always like to train for somebody else you know when the 30 time come it’s like all right let’s do this again you know to win uh put her away for good so and the last couple days the new the news come out and and I was like actually was the original point right you know me in the UFC was talking about it you know see day one of the NX and everything was a line up to Bill Donna and I don’t know if Juliana cried about it and whatever happened and she ended up to get one more opportunities but now we are here you know with the original opponent so I was ready for neither you know right my job is to defend the belt yeah you know get ready step in the cage and and get in my belt home with me so but at the end of the day I like to fight a good opponent too a respectable opponents like Oh Donna it’s gonna be awesome I can’t wait for this it’s gonna be great and I think a lot of fans felt like true to sport in a meritocracy she’s done enough to earn this Championship opportunity and I think you agree with that yes yeah definitely you know actually I never fought her before so Julian have two two opportunities obviously the first the first one was a bad night for me I proved in the second one was a bad night so and now I feel like we have to move on you know we gotta have no girls give their girls in their division opportunity you know and yeah now we are here I’m very excited about it and I can’t wait so I’m gonna take you back a little bit because after the first fight against Juliana Pena you drove back from Las Vegas or wherever in the hell we were to South Florida and at one point you texted Dean Thomas your longtime friend and Coach I think I’m done but you weren’t done and then you came back and I think in a lot of respects got the closure against Juliana Pena that you were looking for so what was that navigation like for you to get your mind and body right to put forth that type of performance that you did at UFC 277. you know I was very confusing you know losing my beltways it’s easy but uh at the same time I always said you know something was wrong you know something that was right and that’s why like what is like look like no real for me so and then when I actually I saw Dean right right there in the arena outside and I give him a hug I look at him and they say like I think I’m done and that we we look each other and they he look are you sure okay call me later talk to me later and I drove back home and I was putting my thoughts together you know everything what I went through going through that camp you know everything that I was upset about and I was sad too you know you know a couple moments in the camp so and when I put everything together and I mean you know we stuck and say like I cannot leaving my belt with Juliana she can’t be somebody else but her right I cannot live in my belt with that girl you know she’s not deserving about you know she didn’t do anything to really deserve it right to hold it about so anyways just a matter timing to put a lot of ideas in my mind you know first of all is the Jimmy that I already have the idea for so long I have in the paper and everything and but like when I drove back I make strong you know and meaning always like call everybody call tatami call uh who have the cages right everything right and the soon we we arrive in Florida we have everything from the gym set and we did everything I talked today as well you know to you know like exactly then we we have a good he helped me a lot America top team don’t get me wrong you know I guess you want to move on my life it’s not nothing that’s what’s wrong that I just want to like move on you know see what is that in my own you know to see at least one time in my life you know I always dream it to gym you know I got everything you know always like uh we did it together right but like I Something in My Heart in my mind tell me to move on in my own you know so and then I decided to do I talked today you know obviously he he was there always for me but I feel like he he can build any other girls over there any other Champion I feel like that was the right time to to move on yeah and soon I talked today and everything I got back home and put everything together and at the same time I in my Camp to fire her I put in the gym at the same time and I just like voice out of my zone my comfort comfort zone so like this is how I want to be my brains like like to do with it you know what I mean I like to be threat I like to be dangerous I’ve been you know this is why I’m in this sport you try it all the time and somebody want to take it take you away all the time think about you all the time this is how I like to feel I feel like after defending my belt for for so long sometimes you’ll get like all right one more so you get comfortable so and I realized like I cannot get comfortable if I I still could I want to be consistent to hold this this belt I got involved I got to keep it like hungry you know I’m a lioness I gotta eat I gotta like hunt all the time so after that fight that I lost for Juliana all everything come back to me amazing like the Frozen day that I beat me so and now I’m here to defend my belt once again and move on you know defend defend defend until my body said like okay now you’ve done like so this is how it is when I want I remember seeing some of those early videos of just you and Nina as the equipment was slowly but surely getting brought into the gym but you’ve never been afraid of change right you left Bahia Brazil to pursue this dream and we know how hard a decision that was and look at you now so second now training camp away from American top team and not going through that transition I gotta think things are now firing on all cylinders yes yeah definitely like I keep adding new things my body my mind just keep it like uh favorable to to like do new things all the time so every time I step in the gym I think about something I wake up at night time I talk to Nina I put it down I you know I keep evolving like as I’m sleepy you know I keep like heavy like this new thoughts of movement what I can do the South Park always like that I wake up one day and say like I got something new I gotta try you know my mind just like that you know like keep it like evolve even when I’m sleepy I wake up and talk to Nina we like watch TV I call her like come here stay in front of me dude I just think talk about something when we watch TV so all those things is like keep you feeding me to move on sometimes like I’m like my body really hurt because like all these years of training you know put into this this sport the next day though I gotta go at least to like try this this new move gotta go to the gym and supposed to rest today but I’m not going I’m going so I’m like judge like heavy distorted in my body sometimes like have to do right away to be able to like register in my mind so in my last fight was that I have that idea so like I mean let me see what I can do in myself but I never did my whole life my whole career I never like always be able to really get comfortable standing in the sofa and I did almost five rounds and right myself but that was like mind-blowing and one thing that I take from that like you cannot say you cannot do something you gotta like try you know choice yourself so and I did I trust what I was thinking and I did it it’s amazing come on even better in the day of the fight than oh really come out perfect better than in the gym I was trying to look at you know like I don’t think this is good it’s like I don’t think this is good in it but the night of the fight that I supposed to really show up I did that was pretty cool you look so happy in there you found the Flow State early and uh as I said I think you got the closure you needed against Juliana Pena perhaps that fight will come around again but it will be raining aldana June 10th UFC 289 stylistically this is a different challenge She Was preparing for a main event on May 20th against Raquel Pennington so what are your immediate thoughts on the challenge presented by this pretty skilled Mexican boxer Renaldo yeah definitely he’s very talented girl as well she’s like obviously she was like right in the corner to get the opportunity I feel like she’s more technical as well you know she’s more dangerous knockout power all those things you know I feel like she’s a have a very good counter punches so I got to watch out for those moments also uh in the takedowns she have good transition when she like getting close to the floor you know so yeah I feel like this is a good opponent and I know she’s ready she was training for for uh five five rounds right so I feel like she’s ready to go and like I am too so I feel like it’s gonna be a fun you know both really have a knockout power and I don’t see this fight really go far away and if you go I’m Gonna Be Ready for five minute rounds for sure and like always you know I want to see that crowd really like hyper up and cheer for for both of us you know and I’m very excited with this new opponent as well the Canadian crowd is incredible I don’t tell you that but they’re very happy to be getting the greatest of all time come June 10th all right actually I’ve been there before of course and I went back there to do all the things and they really treated me pretty I bet they did so we’re coming up on the 10-year anniversary of your UFC debut that was at UFC 163. you were 13 and four when you first fought for the belt at UFC 200. now you’re 22-5 this will be your 12th straight title fight 12th straight championship fight and yet your energy today is just incredible it seems like you’re renewed but a lot of people do want to know how you are holding up physically and how long you think you can go just given the nature of your career and all the title fights back to back back to back yeah it’s like it’s crazy to think about the whole thing honestly because in the beginning of my career in Brazil you know jcg’s dream believe me you know obviously my family with me believe as well so that was a many thing you know to be coming to become who I am today and just look look back and then see everything you know all the crazy training back in the day because like you fall many times after that you started like take somebody down so this is the mentality from Judo back then you know with the mentality that I come from you know so and obviously my body you know I’m 34 years old so obviously now I feel more than when I was in my 20s right so that’s why I have to like adjust my training every day you know every weekend something I have to do different to be able to move on every every weekend so like um push myself in a different way to really be able to hold on and don’t get hurt and again like even worse pain you know muscle pain all those things so definitely you know so this day we gotta go to the doctor more you know taking care of the body more go to the chiropractor he go there you know so but like definitely I feel like I’m happy when I’m happy I feel good I be able to to move on you know I’m That Kind of fighter that I really did I would like to walk in the gym and feel happy you know I don’t like anything that’s bothering me in my in the place that I walk you know so I feel like walking in my studio every day open the door is only me is going to walk he and people that’s really by my side too and that is like make the game you know they make the game change so I feel like as long as you be able to to go you know my body be able to move and I’m I’m gonna step in the cage you know I’m very excited to see the next couple fights obviously I want to feel now my body my mind tell me inside the cage you know when I’m done I want to see what I like what is the moment decided for me yeah well it’s exciting for us to think that you might be here for another three or four years some people would say to you you’re the greatest of all time no one’s ever going to be able to probably take that away from you so what goals are there really left to accomplish I’m not sure there is that much now you may say I’d love to fight in Brazil again I haven’t fought there in five years but in terms of professional ambition I’m not sure what else there is for you to accomplish what would you say to that you know like I say I’ve been saying in a lot of interviews and I like to have a lot of memories with Reagan you know especially she’s now she really understand right she’s walking here and then she tell me like Mama is gonna fight her mama is a lion and she’s gonna eat you so she’s keep telling me those things and then she understand it a lot she see my picture you know she’s like we might fight so that is a very good uh phase to see and as long as I be able to take a couple pictures have a lot of memories with her this is a lot of driving me from now on you know keeping it be good at it and bring my family with me everywhere UFC is very good with that yeah they always set up my travel with my my group by the way yeah yeah so it’s pretty good I have a break in the room fight week for me it’s like mind-blowing it’s like really there’s no stress it’s a really she really taking all the nerves from from me it’s like it’s literally like it looks like I’m home so and I like to like have my routine that I have a home with with her in the week of the fight no give her bed you know yeah like read a book I do everything that I we are at home so because she don’t know anything else she wanna do her routine so and I’m it’s pretty cool you know I feel like this is what I like to do I love to be here you know I like sometimes I really think oh my God Nina yeah it’s that day that I’m gonna be trying to retire is Gonna Come so like I don’t know if I’m ready to do this because this is what I like to do you know in all the process that I that I did it to becoming who I am today is like just like say bye is like it’s gonna thank you so much for me you know and I I don’t know you know that’s why like I got a few can I tell you okay it’s gonna be the next one I don’t know yeah you know I gotta feel I gotta be ready you know and because I gotta do something else too you know I still want to be involved in this in Jesus part you know so whatever I I still want to be here I still want to see you you know you guys here so I I can’t well I’m not gonna say I can’t wait to retire at all but like I want to see after what I’m gonna do with with the whole thing well we hope that she’ll be omnipresent at all of these UFC shows going forward Before I Let You Go I’ve called about 28 30 fights in Brazil I don’t have to tell you there’s nothing like the Brazilian crowds it has been a while do you think there is a world whereby you get back there and and make a title defense in Brazil before all is said and done you know I love to uh my my debut was there you know my uh in in the UFC my debut in the UFC was there against Sheila again so why not go back there you know with one more time yeah or maybe the last time we never know so we I’m very excited we I hope UFC can can go back there a lot of a member of my family they don’t have the visa to Comedy so over there they have opportunity to at least one time watch my fight so that would be good yeah like let’s give you a see like uh maybe they they tall next year to to fight that would be good we live in South Florida Brazil’s closer to us than Vancouver right that would actually be more of a home game all right the greatest of all time Amanda Nunes you can see her fight Arena aldana UFC 289 that is your headliner in Vancouver champ much love I appreciate the time thank you Amanda Nunez ladies and gentlemen