The Takedown | UFC 259: Amanda Nunes makes a compelling case as the new ‘GOAT’ in MMA – man or woman
- ‘The Lioness’ just punished Megan Anderson in one of the most convincing title defences in recent memory
- Now Nunes needs to be thrown into the conversation with Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre as the sport’s best
Megan Anderson has to be one of the most visually intimidating female UFC fighters out there. Aside from Cris Cyborg, Anderson looks like a physical specimen and handcrafted to be a mixed martial artist.
She stands six feet even (1.83 metres), and is covered in tattoos. Her shoulders are broad and her reach is phenomenal at 72 inches (183 centimetres). Anderson (11-5) has rag dolled some featherweight contenders throughout her career. She earned a title shot by dispatching both Norma Dumont Viana and Zarah Fairn Dos Santos in relatively easy fashion, with a knockout and submission victory.
Lots of fighters have cleaned out divisions – think Jon Jones or Khabib Nurmagomedov – but Nunes has now done that in two weight classes, and in spectacular fashion. She has run rampant through fighters, winning in various ways, knockouts, submissions and unanimous decisions where there was no debate in who won after five rounds.
After the fight, commentator Joe Rogan asked the obvious question: who do you fight now? It’s a legitimate one because anyone in either of those divisions is probably shaking their head right now thinking fighting the 32-year-old Brazilian masterclass is like picking out coffins before your funeral.