Why do fighters freeze against Amanda Nunes?
Amanda Nunes is the reigning UFC women's bantamweight and featherweight champion. She is scheduled to face Irene Aldana tomorrow in the headline bout at UFC 289. 'The Lioness' is widely regarded as the greatest female fighter of all time, owning numerous accolades that others can only dream of.
Oftentimes, fighters who are held in high regard tend to have a mental edge over their foes. Whenever other mixed martial artists step into the cage to face them, they seem to shrink in the presence of their more well-renowned opponents. This, however, is even more notable against Amanda Nunes.
Fighters who challenge 'The Lioness' freeze almost immediately after the first few exchanges. In her case, it has nothing to do with skill or technique. Yet even Jon Jones and Khabib Nurmagomedov have never been capable of freezing their foes to that extent. So, why exactly does this happen against Amanda Nunes?
Amanda Nunes' reach and how she uses it
The consensus GOAT of women's MMA is a large bantamweight blessed with long limbs. Like reigning heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones, Amanda Nunes makes excellent use of her length. However, instead of kicks, she uses a slick jab-right straight/right cross combination down the middle.
While simple on the surface, it is one of Nunes' most effective weapons. She stands just beyond her opponent's striking range, using her reach to tag foes from a distance that they can't return fire against. Additionally, most female bantamweights and featherweights run into Nunes' strikes.
The prevalence of looping punches in both divisions means that most of her opponents throw punches that travel through a wider arc, and therefore greater distance, than her jabs and straights. In short, 'The Lioness' intercepts her foes with linear punches down the middle as they lunge in with hooks.
ICYMI: Amanda Nunes lands a STRAIGHT RIGHT on Felicia Spencer during the Main Event. #UFC250 https://t.co/9hJihaxvW8
This is especially effective given the lack of high-level strikers at bantamweight and featherweight. The best strikers in women's MMA fight below 135 pounds. Meanwhile, the featherweight division in WMMA is notoriously shallow, consisting mostly of bantamweights who don't want to cut weight.
In fact, the UFC's official rankings page doesn't even list any female featherweights other than Amanda Nunes herself, the division's champion. Similarly, bantamweight is devoid of any high-level strikers besides Holly Holm, who—despite her championship success as a boxer—is mainly a kicker.
The former bantamweight titleholder lacks effective punching mechanics, likely due to Mike Winkeljohn's influence. Holly Holm frequently throws her jab after stepping in, instead of throwing her jab as she steps in. Additionally, she fights from a pull-counter stance but doesn't use any pull-counters.
Her punches are more akin to shoves and pushes. Her past success as a boxer was due to her footwork, movement, athleticism, and clinch work. Thus, the lower-level striking that Nunes faces means most of her opponents are at a complete loss whenever she stings them with her one-two combinations.
All they understand is that every time they press forward with punches, they're sniped at a long range from which they can't return fire. With no other offensive options, they simply freeze, much like Eddie Alvarez did against Conor McGregor for the same reasons.
Amanda Nunes' knockout power
As the only double champion who still rules over the two divisions she conquered, Amanda Nunes is a decorated record-holder. She owns the record for the most wins, knockouts, finishes, and title fight wins in UFC women's history. Furthermore, she helmed the longest-ever win streak in UFC women's history.
All of this wouldn't have been possible without her seismic knockout power. This is the biggest reason why women freeze before 'The Lioness'. It is the same reason why fighters froze against former UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou. One cannot afford to be hit by fighters with such earth-shattering power.
But that is the reality of fighting. Fighters will get hit, at least once or twice, no matter how dominant they are against their opponent. Even Dominick Cruz, whose elusive style rendered him hard to hit during his peak, sustained blows in every fight. But getting hit by the likes of Ngannou and Nunes is different.
July 9, 2016
UFC 200
Amanda Nunes defeats Miesha Tate
via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in Round 1 https://t.co/p6TSqYx1Uv
Fighters in WMMA aren't used to being hit by opponents with that much knockout power, similar to how heavyweights weren't used to being hit by someone like 'The Predator'. The moment they're struck, they don't know how to react against that kind of power because they've never felt such power.
A perfect example of this was Amanda Nunes' win against retired featherweight bruiser Megan Anderson. The Australian was a towering juggernaut. She was six feet of physical dominance, but that meant nothing against 'The Lioness'. Within the first two punches Nunes landed, Anderson was a deer in headlights.
She froze and stopped pressing forward. Instead, she shot for a sloppy takedown that resulted in a Nunes submission. Even fighters who aren't immediately rocked by her still freeze. The image of the two-division queen dropping and flatlining legendary power-puncher Cris Cyborg is burned into everyone's minds.
Thus, the moment Nunes stuns her foes, her opponents are frozen by fear. They don't want to end up like Cyborg, but they're helpless against her combination of thunderous power, length, and linear punching. They either freeze or try to wrestle her, but not to win. They do so only to survive.