UFC CEO Dana White Believes Amanda Nunes is Teasing Comeback

The woman many feel is the WMMA GOAT might be plotting a return.

Amanda Nunes (23-5) recently hinted that she might be coming out of retirement in a message to Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White. “The Lioness” asked the UFC head honcho to “Call me” in a video posted on Instagram.

White reacted to Nunes’ message at the DWCS 2024: Week 9 post-fight press conference.

“She looks good. She looks great. Looks like she’s still in shape. So, you know where her head’s at. And I love that about her. There’s a lot of things I love about her, I love that about her. She’s keeping an eye on who wins the title next. I think she’s teasing that she might be interested in coming back.”

Nunes’ legendary championship run came to an end via a shock upset submission loss against Julianna Pena (12-5) at UFC 269 in 2021. Nunes reclaimed her belt via a one-sided unanimous decision over Pena in their rematch at UFC 277 the next year. They were slated to meet in a rubber matchup at UFC 289 in 2023, but Pena was forced out with a rib injury. Nunes decisioned short-notice replacement Irene Aldana before hanging up her gloves.

Nunes has since repeatedly hinted that she misses the sport but never said anything concrete about returning. This could have been influenced by Pena’s controversial split decision title victory over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 last weekend. “The Venezuelan Vixen” has consistently been hopeful of coaxing Nunes out of retirement and continues to do so. After her UFC 307 win, Pena expressed a preference for a trilogy against Nunes over a booking against top contender Kayla Harrison , who established her claim to title shot with a win over Ketlen Vieira on the same card.