Born: May 30, 1988 (Age: 35) in Pojuca, Brazil
Division: Women’s Bantamweight
Height: 5’8”
Reach: 69”
Record: 22-5 (15-2 UFC)
Association: American Top Team
Stage of Career: Post-Prime
Summary: While she achieved a higher level of ability than any
other female fighter in history, Nunes is now past her peak. This
manifests itself in slightly slower hands and flawed cardio, as
fighting too intensely for just the first round can result in her
gassing by the second. See the first
Julianna
Pena fight as proof. Even fighting at a fairly slow, reserved
pace in the rematch, Nunes appeared to barely have enough energy
and looked tired near the end. However, even with the “Lioness”
past her prime, it remains unclear where she falls in relation to
the rest of the division; she is not only the best striker but also
the best grappler at 135 pounds. Nunes still throws accurate,
powerful shots from either hand, especially her outstanding right
cross, left hook and looping right—all of which can produce a
knockout. She also has stout leg kicks and a dangerous head kick at
her disposal. In terms of grappling, Nunes is an excellent
wrestler, particularly in the clinch, where she has proven quite
strong and features an array of takedowns. While she can win fights
through repeated takedowns alone, she can potentially end them with
ground-and-pound or submissions when given too much space to
operate. With that said, Nunes’ cardio issues leave her vulnerable
in grappling exchanges. The strategy many employ against her:
Pursue a toe-to-toe battle, avoid getting knocked out inside the
first round and then make your move once she shows signs of
fatigue.
STRIKING
• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Slightly above average.
• Jab: Decent, though she does not use it much and chooses instead
to prioritiz power punches.
• Cross: Technical, accurate and carries genuine knockout
power.
• Left Hook: Another technical, accurate and sudden shot that can
result in a finish.
• Overhand Right: Does not throw on per se but instead employs a
looping right to get around the guard. It is one of her best
weapons and has proven ridiculously accurate.
• Uppercuts: Rarely uses them.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Loves throwing power punches
in bunches.
• Favorite Combination(s): No clear preference, but she excels at
pairing her right cross with the left hook in either order, which
is tremendously dangerous.
• Leg Kicks: Technical and powerful, though she can telegraph them
at times.
• Body Kicks: The roundhouse variant is potent, though she rarely
uses it. Her front kick is surprisingly poor, a bit slow,
improperly thrown and fairly harmless.
• Head Kicks: Lack some speed, but they are technical and powerful,
along with being sudden and accurate. She times them especially
well, as was the case in her knockout of
Holly
Holm.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.
Nunes focuses primarily on power punches. She has true knockout
capabilities in both hands—a practically unheard-of quality in
women’s MMA—and she is tremendously accurate in delivering those
blows. Her hands are slower than they were at her peak, but they
are still faster than average. She has three main punches—a right
cross, a left hook and a looping right—she calls upon, and they
have led to numerous finishes. Without knowing which hand is being
used or the trajectory of the punch, opponents often run into
serious trouble, especially since Nunes prefers to throw shots in
multiples and does so in unpredictable fashion. She features stout
leg kicks and would be well served by utilizing them more. Nunes
can also unleash a hellacious head kick.
CLINCH
• Physical Strength: A big, powerful and intimidating
bantamweight.
• Technique: She has an array of trips, high-crotch doubles and
even a harai goshi in her arsenal.
• Knees: While accurate and impactful, they are not a major
weapon.
• Elbows: Does not throw them.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Sound.
While her knees are solid, the biggest threat Nunes poses in the
clinch comes from her takedowns. She is quite powerful and features
an array of ways to get an opponent to the canvas, either through
judo or wrestling.
GRAPPLING
• Wrestling from a Shot: Looked strong while repeatedly taking down
de Randamie in their rematch, especially as she came forward. She
sometimes reaches too much for the double-leg without properly
driving forward.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Gets the majority of takedowns at close
range through trips, high-crotch doubles or even a harai goshi.
• Takedown Defense: She has given up takedowns against the likes of
Pena and
Raquel
Pennington and can be caught off-guard, but she easily defends
weaker attempts.
• Ability to Return to Feet: Made great strides since early in her
career.
• Submissions: She excels at finishing off opponents who are
already stunned, like
Miesha Tate,
or those who are poor on the ground, like
Megan
Anderson. Otherwise, Nuned does not pose much of a threat
nowadays.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: When she finds
herself on her back, Nunes is often completely fatigued. She was
finished there by Pena and
Cat Zingano.
The results would likely be different if she had a full tank of gas
with which to work.
• Top control: Nunes can sometimes posture up too much with her
ground-and-pound, allowing opponents to simply stand up. However,
she normally exerts heavy pressure.
• Ground-and-Pound: She can be absolutely vicious and finish
opponents if given enough separation, but she can also be tied up,
at which point she struggles to inflict much offense.
So long as she has the energy to do it, Nunes is the best
overall grappler in the women’s bantamweight division. She is a
solid wrestler from a shot, though she tends to reach a little too
much, but she is excellent inside the clinch, where few opponents
can resist her. On top, she can potentially finish with brutal
ground-and-pound if she gets enough space. However, she can also be
grabbed and tied up. Nunes can execute submissions against weaker
grapplers or those she has hurt with her strikes. Defensively, she
can be taken down, but she is normally terrific at getting back to
her feet. When she is on the bottom for any length of time, it is
because she is gassed, and in that case, Nunes almost always finds
herself trouble.
INTANGIBLES
• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Still powerful and
dynamic.
• Cardio: A definite weakness. If Nunes overexerts herself too much
in the first round, she can become visibly fatigued as early as
Round 2.
• Chin: She has shown the ability to take multiple shots, with few
ill effects.
• Recuperative Powers: At up to par.
• Intelligence: She has improved tremendously over her career and
has often fought smart to win when tired. Nunes has proven quite
accomplished at exploiting the weaknesses of her opponents.