Amanda Nunes Has The Most To Lose When Cris Cyborg Leaves UFC

When Cris Cyborg gets that FedEx envelope from Dana White and his lawyer, Amanda Nunes will suffer the most

Aug 05, 2019

I don't know what Amanda Nunes did over the weekend, but if I were her, I would have spent some time looking at my bank account and then followed that with some heavy, heavy drinking.

On Friday, UFC president Dana White grabbed a UFC employee for a totally spontaneous and unscripted three-camera interview on the subject of Cris Cyborg and her status with the UFC. During the impromptu debriefing, White showed an uncanny ability to remember dates and interviewers who spoke to Cyborg and Ronda Rousey. White also showed an extraordinary ability to paint himself and the UFC in a glowing white light during the majority of the 17-minute conversation. That, of course, is his prerogative when doing an interview that was released by the UFC's state-run television.

The pivotal part of the interview came when White took a swing at Cyborg for "all this other bullshit that she's putting out there, again, to avoid fighting Amanda Nunes."

"Message received," White continued. "I get it. I'm going to release her from her contract. I will not match any offers. She is free and clear to go Bellator or any of these other organizations and fight these easy fights that she wants. Done. Done deal. I will, literally today, have my lawyer draft a letter to her team that she is free and clear to go wherever she wants. We're out of the Cyborg business."

With that, White cost Amanda Nunes a huge payday — or two.

Nunes knocked out Cyborg in 51 seconds in December to earn the UFC women's featherweight title. After the fight, Cyborg asked for an immediate rematch with Nunes, who also holds the women's bantamweight crown. White and the two-division champ were noncommittal on that rematch at the time.

"Of course, I can rematch any time Dana White want to put together," Cyborg said.

"We'll see," said Nunes. "You never know. Let me go back home and talk to Dana White to see what he thinks. But soon you guys are going to know."

"I don't think you do," White commented about running the fight back. "It was a pretty convincing win."

White and Nunes both came around eventually and seemed interested in making that rematch. Despite White's assertions to the contrary, it never seemed like Cyborg wavered on her desire to fight Nunes a second time. However, it now looks as if that rematch won't happen and the person that fact might hit the hardest is Nunes.

The only fight that makes sense for Nunes is a Cyborg rematch, which White and his lawyer have allegedly squashed with the letter the UFC president mentions above.

There's no interest in Nunes fighting anyone in the featherweight division, whatever there is of a 145-pound division, right now. As for bantamweight, no one's rushing White's office door and throwing his expensive artwork to the floor in the hopes of convincing him to book Nunes against No. 1 ranked Germaine De Randamie or No. 2 ranked Ketlen Vieira, who at 4-0 in the UFC, is two fights removed from two consecutive curtain jerker bookings with the promotion.

A fight with Cyborg could have been a legacy maker for Nunes. Wins over Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm and the knockout of Cyborg have her in the running for GOAT status in women's MMA. A second win over Cyborg would have solidified that standing, especially if the conclusion resembled the first meeting between the two Brazilians.

The rematch would have promoted itself and would have made everyone a decent amount of cash.

Now? Now the UFC has to cobble together a storyline for Nunes' next fight that's going to come across as transparent and forced. That contrived marketing will almost certainly be met with nothing more than a shrug. Nunes vs. Cyborg II would have been a PPV main event that sold. And if Cyborg would have won the rematch? Well, shit, that's a slam-dunk trilogy fight if there ever was one.

Cyborg will be fine if she moves on. Hell, she'll probably be more than fine if she lands with her old buddy Scott Coker at Bellator. We know the UFC will be fine without Cyborg. But Nunes? Yes, her career will survive the loss of Cyborg, but it's hard not to think about the opportunities and potential earnings that will disappear when Cyborg opens that FedEx envelope containing the letter signed by White and his lawyer.

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