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The GOAT debate in women’s MMA is shorter and less contested than its male equivalent: Amanda Nunes is the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time, and it is not particularly close. “The Lioness” from Brazil won world championships in two weight classes, defeated every significant women’s fighter of her generation, and compiled a championship record that no female MMA athlete has matched in scope, quality of competition, or duration. She is to women’s MMA what Georges St-Pierre is to the men’s game — the fighter who other great fighters are measured against.

Brazil and the Fighting Foundation

Amanda Nunes was born on May 30, 1988, in Pojuca, Bahia, Brazil. She began training in capoeira and judo as a child before discovering MMA as a teenager, and she developed the multi-disciplinary game that would eventually make her the most complete women’s fighter in the sport’s history. She trained primarily under Edson Carvalho and later with American Top Team in South Florida, one of the most competitive MMA gyms in the world. The ATT training environment — which also produced Dustin Poirier, Jorge Masvidal, and numerous other champions — helped her develop the tactical sophistication to complement her already exceptional physical gifts.

The UFC Bantamweight Championship

Nunes captured the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship in July 2016 by stopping Miesha Tate in the fifth round of what was turning into a dominant Tate performance. The comeback stoppage announced Nunes’s finishing ability and championship resolve simultaneously. From there she embarked on one of the most dominant championship runs in UFC history, regardless of gender.

Her bantamweight title defenses included victories over Ronda Rousey (13 seconds), Valentina Shevchenko (the first fight), Raquel Pennington, Holly Holm, Germaine de Randamie, and Julianna Peña. Each win added another name to a list that eventually encompassed virtually every significant champion and contender in the division. The Rousey finish — stopping the most famous women’s fighter in history in 13 seconds with a performance of overwhelming aggression and striking precision — marked the symbolic passing of the torch in women’s combat sports.

Two-Division Champion

In December 2018, Nunes moved up to featherweight and stopped Cris Cyborg — the woman widely considered the most dangerous female fighter in history to that point — in 51 seconds. The Cyborg stoppage was perhaps the most shocking result in women’s MMA history: Cyborg had not been finished since 2005, had defeated everyone she faced with overwhelming physical force, and was considered by many to be physically too large and too powerful for anyone in women’s MMA to hurt. Nunes hurt her immediately and finished her in under a minute.

The win made Nunes a two-division UFC champion, joining the small list of fighters in any gender who have held championships in multiple weight classes simultaneously. She defended the featherweight title and continued defending the bantamweight title across the following years, becoming the first female UFC champion to defend a belt five times.

Fighting Style: Power, Speed, and Elite IQ

Nunes is the rare fighter who genuinely excels in every dimension of MMA. Her boxing is powerful and precise; she has elite hand speed for women’s bantamweight and generates genuine knockout power with both hands. Her Muay Thai includes effective leg kicks and knees from the clinch. Her wrestling and BJJ are at a level that allows her to choose whether fights stay standing or go to the ground, and she is equally dangerous in both places.

Her most underrated attribute may be her fight intelligence. She makes adjustments within fights, recognizes danger and responds appropriately, and has shown the ability to fight multiple different game plans against different styles of opponents. She is not merely a physically superior athlete who overwhelms opponents — she is a complete martial artist who would be exceptional in her weight class regardless of her physical advantages.

Legacy: The Undisputed GOAT of Women’s MMA

Nunes’s legacy is already defined: she is the greatest women’s MMA fighter in history. Her wins over Rousey, Cyborg, Shevchenko, Holm, and Pennington constitute a career resume that has no equivalent in women’s MMA. She and her wife Nina Ansaroff — herself a UFC fighter — are one of the most prominent LGBTQ+ couples in professional sports, and Nunes has represented that visibility with the same confident, direct approach she brings to everything.

She announced her retirement in June 2023 following her final bantamweight title defense, stepping away as the champion and the greatest to have competed at any weight in women’s MMA. The Lioness’s reign is complete.

Amanda Nunes: Career Highlights

Born: May 30, 1988, Pojuca, Bahia, Brazil
Nickname: The Lioness
Gym: American Top Team
UFC Record: 22-5
Titles: UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion (multiple reigns), UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion
Notable Wins: Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, Valentina Shevchenko, Miesha Tate, Germaine de Randamie
Achievement: First female UFC champion to defend a belt five times; first female two-division UFC champion