Amanda Nunes: The G.O.A.T. of Women’s MMA

Amanda “The Lioness” Nunes is widely regarded as the greatest of all time (GOAT) in women's mixed martial arts. With an impressive record and a slew of accolades, she has cemented her position as a dominant force in the sport.

Born on May 30, 1988, in Salvador, Brazil, Nunes began training in martial arts at a young age. She started with karate and later transitioned to Brazilian jiu-jitsu and taekwondo. Nunes made her professional MMA debut in 2008 and quickly rose through the ranks.

Nunes' impressive resume includes:

- 2x UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion

- 2x UFC Women's Featherweight Champion

- 14 consecutive wins in title fights

- Most consecutive title defenses in women's bantamweight division

- Winner of multiple Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses

- Held the UFC Women's Bantamweight and Women's Featherweight championships simultaneously, a rare and impressive feat in the sport. 

Nunes' aggressive fighting style, combined with her well-rounded skills, makes her a formidable opponent. She is known for her:

- Devastating striking: Nunes' powerful kicks and punches have resulted in numerous knockouts and stoppages.

- Elite grappling: Her Brazilian jiu-jitsu background gives her an edge on the ground, where she excels at submissions and takedowns.

- Adaptability: Nunes has shown the ability to adjust her strategy mid-fight, making her a difficult opponent to prepare for.

Nunes has defeated some of the biggest names in women's MMA, including Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, Valentina Shevchenko, Raquel Pennington, Megan Anderson, and Juliana Peña. These victories showcase her dominance over a range of talented opponents.

Nunes is a trailblazer, being the first openly lesbian champion in UFC history. Her confidence and pride in her identity have made her a role model for many in the LGBTQ+ community.

After a remarkable career, Nunes retired from professional MMA in June 2023, vacating her titles. Her legacy continues to inspire a new generation of female fighters in the MMA world.

Nunes is married to former UFC fighter Nina Nunes (née Ansaroff), and the couple has two daughters together.

 

Nunes' dominance has raised the bar for women's MMA, pushing other fighters to elevate their game. She has:

- Inspired a new generation of female fighters

- Helped increase visibility and recognition for women's MMA

- Set a high standard for competition in the women's divisions

Conclusion:

Amanda Nunes is the embodiment of excellence in women's MMA. Her impressive record, dominant performances, and lasting impact on the sport solidify her position as the GOAT. Her retirement marks the end of an era, but her legacy will continue to inspire and influence the sport for years to come.

Why WWE’s ECW reboot failed

There's an old saying: "Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should."  Such was the case of WWE's reboot of ECW.

What was ECW?  Some will tell you that it was the greatest wrestling promotion ever, others will tell you it was all barbed wire, fire, blood and guts, etc. and they might all be right but although ECW was best known for it's hardcore style, it also had solid wrestling matches as well.  ECW was basically an alternative to WWE (Then WWF) and WCW.  While WWF & WCW's product at the time was more family friendly, ECW was counter culture and utilized edgier moments.  While WWF was running in big arenas, ECW was running in a bingo hall affectionately known as the ECW Arena (now the 2300 Arena) in Philadelphia, PA.  Some of the most memorable ECW moments included Shane Douglas throwing down the NWA World title and declaring himself the ECW World Champion, Raven crucifying Sandman on a cross, the Blue World Order, Eddie Guerrero vs Dean Malenko, RVD vs Jerry Lynn, and other things that there would be No Chance in Hell (pun intended) that Vince McMahon would put on his shows.  However, bad business decisions forced Paul Heyman to close ECW in 2001.

3 years later, WWE now owned the ECW name, trademarks, video library, and other assets, so they released a DVD titled The Rise and Fall of ECW which easily became their best selling DVD.  Shortly thereafter Rob Van Dam approached Vince McMahon about an ECW reunion PPV.  Vince gave the ok and Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer began writing it.  The 2005 ECW One Night Stand was a great success and of course Vince took notice so he decided there was one thing to do: revive ECW!

When the "old school" ECW fans heard that ECW was coming back full time, they were thrilled but it didn't take long for that joy to turn to disappointment.  Although the new show on Sci Fi/SyFi was a ratings success at first, it could've been better and I think Vince deep down knew that.

Joey Styles did return on commentary and we did have Dreamer, Sandman, RVD, Sabu, & Balls Mahoney, and even the blown out brick wall entrance way, but unfortunately Paul Heyman wasn't in charge.  EVERYTHING that comes through the WWE’s doors is signed off on by Vince.  Also the ECW originals had to change to PG and couldn't use their old entrance themes (remember singing along with Metallica's Enter Sandman or AC/DC's Big Balls?) and to make matters worse, it wasn't it's own touring brand.  To save costs, ECW was on the same route as the Smackdown roster as an opener for them.  That's right, ECW was now the new Velocity.  I'm not even going to get into the Zombie or Kelly Kelly doing the worst striptease dance.  I realize it couldn't be exactly the same as the original ECW but come on, couldn't you at least keep the no DQ, no count outs?

They got rid of the familiar entrance way and replaced it with... whatever the hell this is supposed to be!

At the end of 2006, a PPV exclusive to the ECW brand, December to Dismember, took place but was the worst selling PPV of all time (nuff said!) and after that a fight between Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon led to Heyman's departure from the company and Vince became a staple on the ECW brand and....

No, this wasn't a photo shopped image, sadly.  Vince McMahon actually became the ECW Champion!  This was when I became convinced that Vince's true intentions with ECW was to destroy it and prove that WWE was the superior brand.

For the first two years of WWECW's existence, the familiar belt went through some changes:

I'll be honest, I wasn't too big on the original but I do like how the details are outlined in the WWE version of this belt.

But then came this:

(facepalm) and why was this the ONLY title on the ECW brand, what about the Tag-Team titles, what about the TV title?

Toward the end, Joey Styles was replaced by Mike Adamle (the former American Gladiators host) who didn't have a clue about wrestling *cough*Jeff Harvey*cough*.  In 2010, Vince McMahon announce he was folding WWE's ECW and nobody cared.  But it was all good though as by this time the only thing this version had in common with the original was the name.  Paul Heyman was long gone, Joey Styles was gone, the ECW originals were gone, its familiar opening theme was gone, it was no longer counter culture, it was no longer extreme.  It was now "Sports Entertainment", the very thing ECW rebelled against.  There was basically NOTHING to remind the fans of the show they once knew and loved.  It was replaced by NXT, which was a reality show at the time.  I didn't like NXT at first because it was like a watered down Tough Enough but when it was changed to the 3rd brand, It became great.  If WWECW was run the same way NXT is now, I think it would've been successful and maybe even still be running today.

To be fair, the ECW reboot wasn't totally bad.  It did serve as a place for younger talent and underutilized talent from RAW and SmackDown a chance to shine.  Guys like CM Punk, the Miz, John Morrison, and even Cody Rhodes.