Amanda
Nunes is retiring from mixed martial arts, and it appears
there’s a good chance she’s taking the UFC women’s featherweight
division with her.
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UFC president Dana White briefly addressed the future of the weight
class at the UFC 289 post-fight press conference, indicating that
the Las Vegas-based promotion wouldn’t go forward with women’s
145-pound fights in the wake of Nunes’ retirement. Though nothing
is set in stone, White has previously hinted that the division
would likely dissolve when Nunes left the UFC.
“The answer is probably yes,” White said on whether the division
would be closed. “I mean, I don’t make these decisions the night of
the fight. She told me when she walked over to the side of the cage
that she was retiring. Yeah, I don’t know. But it makes sense.”
The inaugural women’s featherweight title was contested at UFC 208
in February 2017, with Germaine
de Randamie defeating Holly Holm to
claim the belt. De Randamie would later vacate the crown, and
Cristiane
Justino captured the belt by besting Tonya
Evinger at UFC 214. “Cyborg” defended the title twice before
suffering the upset loss to Nunes at UFC 232 that made “Lioness” a
two-division champion. The promotion held a featherweight-themed
“Ultimate Fighter” in 2018, but female bouts at 145 pounds have
been infrequent in recent years, and the promotion’s rankings on
its website listed no fighter beyond Nunes.
Meanwhile, other organizations have promoted more women’s
featherweight fights in recent years. Justino is the reigning
champion at 145 pounds for Bellator, and PFL just launched the
division as part of its 2023 season. Nunes’ last featherweight
title defense came in March 2021, when she submitted Megan
Anderson in the opening stanza at UFC 259.