“Amanda is a multi-millionaire who is is not that hungry savage she was” – Dana White believes Amanda Nunes’ success has hampered her octagon performances

Amanda Nunes is all set to defend her women’s bantamweight title against Julianna Pena at UFC 277, but Dana White questions whether she still has ‘The Lioness’ in her.

Nunes surrendered the belt to Pena in December 2021 after collapsing in the second round of their fight. While the former double champ blamed her defeat on injuries, UFC president Dana White questions whether she’s still hungry enough to reclaim the title.

White stated in a new ESPN interview:

“The question is, for Amanda, and this is what happens to all fighters. You know the big narrative that we don’t pay anybody. Amanda’s rich. Amanda is a multi-millionaire who is now at a completely different financial status. She has a baby now. Her life, she is not that hungry savage she was when she started to take this run at becoming a world champion. A lot of that factors in.”

“And now Julianna’s in a place where she beat her, Julianna’s starting to see a lot of the things that come along with being the world champion now. Financially, popularity as you get out in the world. That belt is the key that opens a lot of doors. So I’m sure she wants to get to that Amanda Nunes level financially and everything else. All of that stuff factors into the fight, and those are all questions I can’t answer.”

Amanda Nunes reveals the injuries she suffered during her fight with Julianna Pena

Amanda Nunes’ loss to Julianna Pena was quite a surprise given Nunes’ six-year win streak. While fans shouldn’t dismiss Pena’s aggressive willingness to swarm ‘The Lioness’ when she sensed the tide of the fight turning, what happened to Nunes remained a mystery.

Months after her defeat, Nunes finally spoke out about the issues she was dealing with prior to the fight. She stated to ESPN:

“Both knees was, like, pretty bad and I wasn’t able to recover. Every time that I training, [I went] back home, and the next day I couldn’t even walk. I needed rest. I couldn’t turn, do all the things that I have to do, like do jiu jitsu that much, wrestling. Pretty much, I was doing only hands, like striking or whatever I going to do for conditioning, I used only my arms. So that cost me my belt.”

Amanda Nunes talks about the loss with ESPN below:

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