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Imperial Fight Magazine · MMA · Legacy
She beat every champion of her era, held two belts at once, and walked away on top. On November 14, the greatest female fighter of all time walks back in.
When Amanda Nunes left her gloves in the Octagon in June 2023, it felt like a perfect ending. She was a two-division champion. She had beaten everyone who mattered. There was nothing left to prove.
Turns out, there was one thing left. She couldn't stay away.
At UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden, Nunes comes out of retirement to challenge Kayla Harrison for the bantamweight title. Before she does, it's worth remembering exactly who is coming back.
The Lioness at a Glance
| Record | 23-5 |
| From | Pojuca, Bahia, Brazil |
| Nickname | “The Lioness” |
| UFC titles | Bantamweight & featherweight, held at the same time |
| UFC women's records | Most title fight wins (11), finishes (10), consecutive wins (12) |
| Hall of Fame | UFC Hall of Fame, 2025 |
FROM POJUCA
Amanda Nunes grew up in Pojuca, a small town in the state of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. Long before the UFC, she was a kid who liked to fight, and she found her way into karate as a young girl.
Boxing came next, then Brazilian jiu-jitsu, where she would eventually earn her black belt. By her early twenties, she had made up her mind: fighting wasn't a hobby. It was the plan.
She lost her professional debut. She lost again a few years later in Strikeforce. Even after reaching the UFC, she was known as a dangerous puncher who could fade if a fight went long.
In 2014, Cat Zingano came back from an early beating and stopped her in the third round. It was the kind of loss that defines a fighter as a contender and nothing more.
Instead, it was the last time anyone beat her for seven years.
THE RISE
The run started quietly. In March 2016 she beat Valentina Shevchenko, a future champion herself, by decision. Four months later she got her shot.
At UFC 200 in July 2016, Nunes faced bantamweight champion Miesha Tate. She hurt Tate early, took her back, and choked her out in the first round. The Brazilian contender was now the champion.
Most people still saw her as a placeholder. The division belonged to Ronda Rousey, and Rousey was coming back.
At UFC 207 that December, Rousey returned after a year away to take her title back. It lasted 48 seconds. Nunes hit her with almost every punch she threw, and the referee stepped in before the first minute was over.
It was the end of one era and the start of another. Nunes followed it up by beating Shevchenko again in a razor-close rematch, then stopped Raquel Pennington in front of her home fans in Rio.
She wasn't keeping the belt warm for anybody. She was the one everyone else had to chase.
CHAMP-CHAMP
By 2018, there was one fight left that people believed she might lose: Cris Cyborg.
Cyborg was the featherweight champion and the most feared woman in the sport. She hadn't lost in more than a decade. Nunes would be moving up a weight class to face her, and most people expected the bigger woman to walk through her.
At UFC 232 in December 2018, Nunes stood in the pocket and traded with her. Fifty-one seconds in, Cyborg was face down on the canvas.
Nunes was now champion at 135 and 145 pounds at the same time.
She didn't just hold the two belts. She defended both. Holly Holm, a former champion, went down from a head kick. Germaine de Randamie lost a five-round decision. Felicia Spencer and Megan Anderson came up short at featherweight.
She became the first fighter in UFC history to defend titles in two divisions while holding both at once. Along the way, she beat six women who held a UFC title at some point in their careers, by knockout, submission and decision.
THE NIGHT IT SLIPPED
In December 2021, at UFC 269, Nunes defended her bantamweight belt against Julianna Peña. She was a massive favorite. She had won 12 straight.
She won the first round. In the second, Peña stood in front of her and kept swinging. Nunes slowed. Peña landed, took her down, and choked her out.
It was one of the biggest upsets the sport had ever seen.
For a fighter of her stature, it would have been easy to make excuses. She didn't. She went back to the gym and studied exactly what went wrong.
Seven months later, at UFC 277, they ran it back. This time Nunes was patient, sharp and in total control. She knocked Peña down several times on the way to a one-sided decision and took her belt back.
One loss in seven years, answered within the year. That was the Lioness.
WALKING AWAY, AND WALKING BACK
On June 10, 2023, in Vancouver, Nunes beat Irene Aldana by unanimous decision. Then she took off her gloves, left them in the center of the Octagon, and retired as a two-division champion.
She later admitted she was burned out. She needed the break. But the break didn't take.
"I had a hard time being away," she said this fall.
In 2025, the UFC inducted her into its Hall of Fame. By then, a new champion had arrived at bantamweight: Kayla Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo and a former training partner of Nunes at American Top Team. When Harrison won the belt in June 2025, she called Nunes into the cage. Nunes stepped in and made it official. She was coming back.
The fight was set for UFC 324 in January 2026. A week out, Harrison needed surgery on herniated discs in her neck, and the fight was off. Nunes was offered other options. She wanted the champion.
So she waited. Ten months later, she finally gets her chance.
On November 14, at Madison Square Garden, Amanda Nunes challenges Kayla Harrison for the bantamweight title. And she has already made one thing clear: if she wins, she isn't retiring again. She plans to defend the belt.
CAREER MILESTONES
| 2008 | Turns professional; loses her debut |
| 2014 | Stopped by Cat Zingano, her last loss for seven years |
| 2016 | Submits Miesha Tate at UFC 200 for the bantamweight title; stops Ronda Rousey in 48 seconds |
| 2017 | Beats Valentina Shevchenko for the second time |
| 2018 | Knocks out Cris Cyborg in 51 seconds to become a two-division champion |
| 2019 | Head-kick knockout of Holly Holm; defends against Germaine de Randamie |
| 2021 | Loses the bantamweight title to Julianna Peña at UFC 269 |
| 2022 | Beats Peña in the rematch at UFC 277 to regain the belt |
| 2023 | Beats Irene Aldana at UFC 289 and retires as a two-division champion |
| 2025 | Inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame; announces her return |
| 2026 | Challenges Kayla Harrison at UFC 334, Madison Square Garden |
THE GREATEST
The argument over the greatest female fighter of all time doesn't take long. Amanda Nunes beat Rousey. She beat Cyborg. She beat Shevchenko twice, Holm, Tate, de Randamie and Pennington. She held two belts at once and defended both.
Nobody else has a list like that. It may never happen again.
But what made her great wasn't only the names. It was what happened when things went wrong. Early losses that could have made her a journeyman. A defeat to Peña that could have ended her reign. Each time, she came back better.
That's why this comeback isn't just a nostalgia act. Win or lose against Harrison, her place in history is already set. She doesn't need this fight for her legacy.
She needs it because she's a fighter, and fighters fight.
The Lioness is back.
Imperial Fight Magazine
Beyond the bell. Beyond the record. Beyond the fight.