Amanda Nunes says a right foot injury is what is delaying the biggest fight in women’s MMA.
The UFC bantamweight champion appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday and spoke of a pending showdown with featherweight champ Cris “Cyborg” Justino, saying, “This is definitely the fight that makes sense — for me, for her, for the UFC.”
Justino has proposed that the fight take place in September; Nunes wants it to happen in December. And sources told ESPN last week that the UFC favors that later timeline as well.
“We need some time to promote this fight,” Nunes said.
That’s not the only reason for the delay. Nunes revealed Monday that she suffered an unspecified right foot injury in her last fight, a victory over Raquel Pennington in May.
“I still can’t kick very well; I still can’t run very well,” Nunes told Helwani. “I’m better, but I still need time for therapy.”
The promotion is hoping to match up the two titleholders in a featherweight championship fight at UFC 232 on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas, sources confirmed with ESPN last week.
Justino, who last fought in March, took to social media last week to try to persuade Nunes to fight her on Sept. 8. Later in the day, however, Nunes posted a photo of a signed bout agreement for the year-end card instead.
Justino (20-1, 1 NC) is considered the best female fighter in the world, according to ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings. Her lone loss came in her professional debut in 2005, and most recently she defeated Yana Kunitskaya in March via first-round TKO.
Nunes (16-4) is second in the ESPN pound-for-pound rankings. Her victory over Pennington in May was her seventh in a row, and she holds victories over Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate and Valentina Shevchenko, among others.
Should she win, Nunes would become just the third fighter in UFC history to be a champion in two weight classes at the same time, joining Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier.