Amanda Nunes laid her two UFC championship belts on the Octagon mat and had the cutman remove her gloves. She put the gloves in the middle of the two titles, kneeled down and cried into the canvas.
On Saturday, after one of her most dominant performances in years, the greatest women’s fighter of all time announced her retirement at UFC 289 on Saturday in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
“Double champion forever,” Nunes said. “This is the perfect night to retire.”
Nunes beat Irene Aldana via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-44, 50-44) in the main event of the pay-per-view card, a comprehensive performance in which Nunes won just about every minute. With the win, Nunes defended her UFC women’s bantamweight title. She is also the UFC women’s featherweight champion. And apparently she will vacate both belts in retirement.
Aldana was a fill-in opponent. Former champion Julianna Peña was supposed to have a trilogy fight against Nunes on Saturday, but after breaking her ribs she was forced to withdraw.
When asked in the postfight news conference what she hoped to most be remembered for, Nunes answered quickly.
“The greatest of all time,” Nunes said. “I did everything. I broke a lot of records.”
Nunes said she knew as…
