MMA fans love a good fight—but they might love a good curse even more. Over the years, the sport has seen a growing list of so-called hexes: the EA Sports cover curse, the Embedded curse, the infamous Drake curse—each one blamed for derailing a fighter’s momentum at just the wrong time. Now, there’s a new superstition making the rounds: the “Nina curse.” and it seems to be taking a toll on Nina Marie Daniele herself.
After fans pointed fingers at Nina for supposedly jinxing Alex Pereira before his loss at UFC 313, the popular UFC personality was noticeably absent from the usual behind-the-scenes content ahead of UFC London this weekend.
Co-incidence? Maybe. But for a fanbase that often compounds superstitious with a generous sprinkle of misogyny from time to time, it definitely hasn’t gone unnoticed.
No videos with Leon Edwards, no sit-downs with Sean Brady, nothing. Her YouTube page which is generally buzzing during fight week has not had a video posted in a few days. Naturally, this has sparked speculation.
Known for her fun, behind-the-scenes content with fighters—even during low-key Apex cards—Nina has had to explain herself repeatedly for fighters’ failures. Even when Arman Tsarukyan had to pull out of fighting Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 due to a back injury, fans piled on the influencer, claiming he had done so trying to impress her.
She had also reportedly received death threats for the same.
However, never one to take one sitting down, the former Playboy model turned influencer had hit back at critics, asking them to move out from under the rock they have been living in.
Nina hits back at medieval beliefs
“How am I a curse when I filmed as many videos with Alex as I did with Ankalaev? Please elaborate.”, Nina had asked women’s flyweight fighter Diana Belbita earlier this month after being called a curse by her.
She then asked Belbita to focus on her own fight with Dione Barbos on April 6. “You have a tough challenge ahead. Wish you the best“, she had advised the Romanian fighter.
Later, as she interviewed UFC Vegas 104 headliner Marvin Vettori earlier this month, she joked about having him sign a contract, claiming sole responsibility for his own fate during the fight.
So, I’ve created a contract,” Daniele said “That says, there’s no ‘Nina Drama curse’. And if you lose, it’s your fault. …It’s not my fault if you lose.”
View this post on Instagram
She had also taken further steps to address the vitriol Pereira fans had coming her way by reminding them that win or lose, the Brazilian would always be a champion.
In a post on Twitter, she said, “He makes the UFC exciting and can’t wait to see what’s next for his awesome career! Always Chama“.
Given that she’s been fighting against the trolls, it is unlikely that her absence has much to do with a curse of all things. However, all things considered, it would be rather unfortunate if this were indeed the case. After all, this is a job for her and she has done a fabulous job of making these gladiators seem more human than ever.
