"Okay now ya'll tweaking" - Fans react to Cris Cyborg calling for Amanda Nunes rematch at UFC 300 after Holly Holm vs. Kayla Harrison confirmation
The MMA world has addressed Cris Cyborg's call for a rematch against Amanda Nunes in light of the Holly Holm vs. Kayla Harrison fight announcement.
UFC CEO Dana White tweeted a video announcing that former PFL women's lightweight champion Harrison has signed with the UFC promotion. White revealed that Harrison will make her octagon debut in a bantamweight bout against boxing legend and former UFC women's bantamweight champion Holm at UFC 300 (April 13, 2024).
Following that, former UFC women's featherweight champion and reigning Bellator women's featherweight champion Cris Cyborg responded to White's tweet. Cyborg suggested that she'd like to fight Nunes in a rematch at UFC 300:
"Dana…I would love to add #CyborgNunes2 onto the @ufc 300 card too."
At the UFC 232 event in December 2018, then-UFC women's bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes moved up in weight to face then-UFC women's featherweight champion Cris Cyborg for the latter's belt. Nunes bested Cyborg via first-round KO and became a simultaneous two-division champion.
Cyborg eventually parted ways with the UFC and joined Bellator MMA, an organization where she won the women's featherweight title. However, after the PFL's acquisition of Bellator in 2023, there's been speculation that Cyborg could depart the PFL/Bellator dominion and could likely re-sign with the UFC.
Certain sections of the MMA community don't seem too pleased with Cyborg's challenging 'The Lioness' to a rematch at UFC 300. Some X users alluded to the turbulent relationship between Cyborg and UFC head honcho Dana White and suggested that White would never let her rejoin the promotion.
Moreover, some fans indicated that Nunes retired from MMA in June 2023. They appeared to accuse Cyborg of evading a potential Nunes rematch when the latter was an active competitor and calling for it now that she ('The Lioness') has retired. One fan jibed at both the Holm-Harrison fight announcement and the proposed Nunes-Cyborg rematch by tweeting:
"Okay now yall tweakin we let 1 female fight slide lol"
Check out the screenshots of a few fan reactions below:
UFC great Amanda Nunes addresses potential MMA return
Former two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes was in attendance for UFC 297 on Jan. 20, 2024. The UFC 297 co-headlining matchup witnessed Raquel Pennington defeat Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision to capture the UFC women's bantamweight title that'd been vacated by Nunes.
Speaking to ESPN MMA's Megan Olivi, Amanda Nunes later implied that she's happy as a retired athlete and is spending more time with her children alongside her partner, Nina Nunes.
Moreover, 'The Lioness' noted that she's been living a normal life and not going all out to train for fights but acknowledged that the same could make her lazy. Opining that she's still young and isn't ruling out an MMA comeback, Nunes added:
"I [can’t be] lazy as a fighter, it’s very hard. But I’m still healthy and powerful, smart, think like a champion. I still feel like a champion, so we’ll see."
Check out Nunes' comments below (2.06):