Amanda Nunes bid farewell to her fighting career with a sensational performance against Irene Aldana at UFC 289, after which she affectionately acknowledged commentator Jon Anik, who remained close to Nunes throughout her career and was deeply impacted by her retirement.
Amanda Nunes concluded her spectacular career with an impressive performance by dominating Irene Aldana at UFC 289. After this final triumph, she left the octagon permanently, acknowledging one of the first people, Jon Anik, who narrated her final fight with a kiss on the forehead. Anik shares their camaraderie, saying it has been a profound and special relationship, particularly since they both live in South Florida. They had spent a significant amount of time together at her new gym, The Lioness Studio, before her final fight.
Anik took this acknowledgement from Nunes as an affirmation of the hard work put in by the entire live production team and staff. He expresses his satisfaction at being able to provide the soundtrack to these athletes’ professional lives, a documentation that their families and friends can take pride in. He sees her gesture of thanking him as signifying a wider gratitude to the staff at large. He expresses that he may retire happily since the motive behind his work is to humanize these athletes and Nunes’ tribute is a validation of this endeavor.
Nunes’ retirement saw her leave as bantamweight champion, a title she lost and regained against Julianna Peña. Although there was speculation about her retirement plans in the MMA community, nothing seemed concrete, even for Anik. Nunes handled her intentions with high discretion in the lead-up to the fight, such that even her coach Roger Krahl was unaware until the last moment. Nevertheless, Anik contents himself with Nunes’ victorious departure being exactly as she had hoped and desired.
Having become a two-division champion with 16 victories out of 18 octagon appearances, Nunes has an exceptionally victorious career record. Some of the notable names on Nunes’ résumé include Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, and Valentina Shevchenko whom she defeated on two occasions. Anik remains confident of her retirement decision but leaves a slight possibility for Nunes to return, possibly driven by a competitor rising in the next couple of years. However, he concludes it’s more probable that Nina Nunes may return as a flyweight, illustrating her impact as a fighter and manager for Team Nunes.