Amanda Nunes Out of UFC 256 With “Serious Medical Issue”

Amanda Nunes is out of the UFC 256 main event due to a “serious medical issue”. The breaking news was revealed by Megan Anderson, who was supposed to fight the Lioness in the headliner of that event. Anderson said that details were not revealed but she is looking forward to fighting for the belt next year:

Megan Anderson says Amanda Nunes out of #UFC256, title fight pushed to 2021 https://t.co/7MTNDLwQjM

— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) November 9, 2020

Said Anderson in a statement:

“All I was told was she has a ‘serious medical issue’ and that they’re working on rescheduling the bout currently. Obviously, it sucks because we’ve been working so hard for this, but I hope she has a speedy recovery and the goal remains the same. Nothing has ever come easy for me. This is just another part of the journey and we’ll be ready for whatever date they set. Our time is coming one way or another.”

The UFC has not made an official announcement as to what happens to Anderson as far as the event goes What’s most likely though is that the UFC featherweight title fight between champion Petr Yan and challenger Aljamain Sterling will most likely be promoted as the main event of the December 12, 2020 pay-per-view event. Yan is currently listed as a -136 betting favorite at SportsBetting.ag with Sterling coming back as a slight +116 underdog.

Nunes was looking to defend her UFC featherweight championship for the second time. She won the belt by knocking out Cris Cyborg at UFC 232. She held off a challenge from Felicia Spencer in her most recent bout at UFC 250. Meanwhile, this was supposed to be the first-ever title UFC shot for Megan Anderson.

Former Invicta FC Champion

Anderson is the former Invicta FC featherweight champion. The 30-year old from Queensland, Australia served two years in the military and worked as a bartender before moving on to mixed martial arts. After losing to Cindy Dandois in her Invicta FC debut, Anderson won four consecutive bouts, all earning post-fight bonuses, on her way to the title.

She joined the UFC after winning the belt and after losing to former UFC champion Holly Holm in her Octagon debut, Anderson has won three out of her last four bouts to vault into contendership. The former Roshambo MMA featherweight champion has not fought since February when she knocked out Norma Dumont Viana inside one round.

Anderson has a record of 11-4 with six knockouts and three wins via submission. Her last eight wins have come via first-round stoppage and because of the dearth of challengers in the women’s featherweight division, she earned a title shot despite being just 3-2 in the UFC. Anderson was a huge +550 betting underdog when the betting lines for the Nunes bout was first announced. Meanwhile, the champion opened as a massive -800 odds on favorite against the Australian.

Women’s GOAT

Widely considered as the greatest of all-time in women’s mixed martial arts, Nunes is the current UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champions. The Lioness became the first female fighter to win two different UFC weight classes, and the third fighter overall to hold two belts simultaneously, after Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier. Among the three, she is the first to successfully defend both titles while actively holding them.

The 32-year old Brazilian has won 11 consecutive bouts, including eight straight title bouts. Seven of those bouts have been won via stoppage. Nunes has a record of 20-4 with 13 knockouts and three wins via submission. She has not lost a fight since 2014 and Nunes is coming off a dominant win over Felicia Spencer at UFC 250.

Nunes took a break after her last title defense as she and partner Nina Asaroff saw the birth of their first child last September. Nunes was expected to be out for some time but in a surprise, she was booked to a headliner against Anderson at UFC 256. Now that fight will have to wait.